The Last Reunion The First Semester
by Nyan Nyan Soup
Summary: It's been ten years since Judai and the gang graduated from Duel Academy. Every year Judai organizes a reunion at the academy, except this year no one can attend. With the only thing he has to look forward to in life now cancelled, Judai has a tough time accepting that maybe his life needs to change. (Post canon, minor Soulshipping)
1. Starting Over

Ten years.

It had been ten years since they all graduated from Duel Academy. Things had changed for each of them in so many ways and in so many ways things still stayed the same.

Sho and Ryo created the new league that they talked about. It was doing well. Not only was Manjoume apart of it, but so was Asuka. They had both become pro duelists referred to by many as Manjoume Thunder and Cyber Queen. Although, Fubuki liked to call her Blizzard Queen. Speaking of Fubuki, the Blizzard Prince himself had gone down the path of becoming a model, which landed him high enough as a celebrity to star in his own movies. He often tried to get Asuka casted in them, but she preferred to stay out of the limelight.

While Kenzan loved dueling, he decided his heart belonged more with the dinosaurs, and so he became an archeologist. Once Rei graduated, she became a pro duelist adored by many and often thought of as an idol thanks to her cute outfits and performances during duels. Martin even became one of her biggest known fans. Edo was still a pro, but was now declared the new King of Games. Yugi Muto himself personally passed down the title to Edo.

O'Brien started working for the government back home, although thanks to the nature of his work he couldn't ever say much about what his job entailed. He kept in frequent contact with Jim, who became a geologist in Australia. Johan ended up becoming the greatest pro duelist in all of Europe. Even his Crystal Beasts became popular world round, which also got a toy line modeled after them. The limited edition stuffed Ruby Carbuncles with his signature on them sold for a hefty price online.

Hayato continued to design cards for Industrial Illusions. Once Kagemaru passed away, Saiou became his replacement as chairman of Duel Academy since he stopped being Edo's manager long ago. But the two friends still took time to see each other when they could. Misawa was still in the other dimension with Tania, supposedly doing well, but it wasn't like anyone really remembered about him anyway. Amon's younger brother, Shido, became head of the Garam Conglomerate, but still always wondered what the truth was about his brother's disappearance.

And as for Judai…

During his travels, Pharaoh eventually passed. The poor cat was already getting old by the time Judai graduated considering Daitokuji had him since he was a kitten. It was hard on both Judai and Daitokuji. Yubel wasn't affected by it like the two of them were, but Yubel at least acknowledged that they needed time before they could move on. After all, Pharaoh wasn't able to stay with Judai in the same way Daitokuji could. Judai briefly considered getting another pet, but nothing could replace Pharaoh and considering he never stayed in one place for very long, he decided it would be too much trouble to take care of an animal that wasn't exactly like Pharaoh.

Unlike everyone else, Judai seemed to stay the same as a person. He saw a lot of the world, good and bad, and so he gained a wide variety of cultural and historical knowledge. He even became mildly fluent in several languages. Although, he was still as laid back as ever. He was excited to see and experience new things all the time, but he also had no real drive other than to go with the flow. He never pointed out a place on the map and decided to make that his next destination, he simply hopped on a train or a boat and waited to see where he ended up. It seemed like he just let the world push him around from one place to another. Every once in awhile he ended up in a place that needed his help and every time he became a hero for saving the day. But by the very next he was gone, almost as if he was never there to begin with.

There was only one place Judai constantly returned to. For one day every year, over semester break he and all his friends came back to Duel Academy for an annual reunion. They would all arrive early in the morning, but no one ever seemed to be able to make it there before Judai. He would sit at the dock and fish while he waited for the first group to arrive. After the first three years, Sho started to theorize Judai would come to the island a day early. After all, he was always the one organizing the reunion. Judai made the calls to check that everyone would be able to make it and each year, without fail, every single one of them would show up. They would spend all day catching up with each other, exploring the school to see what had changed, and eating a big dinner together in the red dorm before leaving long after the sun had set.

It was the day Judai looked forward to every year. It was really the only thing he looked forward to actually. It was the only constant. Judai's location changed all the time, some of his friends moved around over the years, and they all aged by ten years. But Duel Academy always stayed the same. Sure the students changed every year, but the hallways still made Judai feel like he was back to being a student again. The red dorm received a few more renovations after what Manjoume did to it, but it continued to feel like home to Judai. A few of the staff changed as well, but Judai was always happy to see Chronos and Samejima every year.

Infact, it was getting close to the day he would see them for the tenth year in a row. The date was coming up in just a week and it was about time Judai started calling everyone to ensure they would show up. He couldn't believe ten years had already passed. He still had such vivid memories of his days at Duel Academy. Some he treasured closely and some he wished he could forget about. Still, they all shaped him into the person he was now and he couldn't imagine himself being any other way.

Judai was currently in a small city in Canada. He had no real reason for being there, he simply crossed the border after a quick trip to Niagara Falls, which he had seen multiple times by now. It was a nice and quaint city, but like just about everywhere else he went, it felt a bit boring. After ten years of exploring the world he saw a lot of it, so smaller places ended up feeling the same no matter where he went.

Judai stood up from the bench in the park he sat on and began walking down the cobblestone path to the lake. Now would be as good a time as any to start calling everyone. And as luck would have it, his phone started ringing. Pulling it out from his back pocket, Judai checked the caller ID to discover it was Sho. Perhaps he was getting a head start on Judai and calling to let Judai know he was going to the reunion. The brunet answered and held the phone against his ear as he continued on his way to the lakeshore.

"Hey, Sho! What's up?" Judai greeted.

_"Aniki, hey. Um…"_ Sho let out a sigh over the line and didn't say anything further.

"Calling about the reunion?" Judai assumed, suddenly worried about why Sho didn't sound very enthusiastic.

_"Yeah um, about that… I talked with a few of my event coordinators about the tournament that's starting tomorrow and uh… I couldn't get it rescheduled."_ Sho explained.

"Huh? You're doing a tournament?" Judai asked, not quite grasping what Sho was trying to tell him.

_"Yes, it's been in the works for several months now. Just- look, uh… um… I'm sorry. I really am."_ Sho apologized.

Judai stopped in tracks.

"Wait, Sho… why are you sorry?" Judai questioned.

Sho sighed again.

_"Ugh, Aniki… I-I forgot the exact date of the reunion and once it was too late I wasn't able to change the schedule. I can't go to the reunion because I have to be here for the tournament. And neither can Onii-san, Manjoume, or Asuka."_ Sho clarified.

Judai felt everything around him freeze. Everyone always came to the reunion. In all the nine years so far no one was ever absent.

"Uh, uh… o-okay… W-well, I can reschedule the reunion then. We can have it earlier than usual. I'll just have to call Samejima and-"

_"Aniki, I said it starts tomorrow. It'll last for two weeks and there's a lot I have to take care of after it too. It's that big of a tournament. There's just no way we'll be able to make it."_ Sho interrupted Judai.

Judai's grip on his phone tightened.

"Are you sure?" He asked in a quiet voice.

_"Yes, I'm sure. I'm really, truly sorry. I would love to see you again just like every year, but it just can't happen this year. Look, just don't let this ruin the reunion. There's still everyone else. It's not the end of the world if some of us don't show up for once."_ Sho advised.

Judai took a deep breath and let out a sigh to calm himself down.

"Right, right. No, you're right. There is everyone else. It's- it's okay, Sho. I get that you and the others have lives and jobs and all that. Stuff happens, it'll be alright. It's just… one of the many reunions we've had and we'll continue to have." Judai said, trying to sound positive.

_"Exactly! Sooner or later it was bound to happen that not everyone would make it every year. And that's okay. There's always next year and the years after that."_ Sho reassured him.

Judai just nodded, although Sho couldn't see it.

_"Huh?... Alright, alright. I'll be there."_ Sho seemed to speak to someone else in the room. _"Hey, I gotta go now. I just wanted to call to let you know. And sorry I wanted 'til the last second to tell you. I only just now realized the mistake."_

"Really Sho, it's fine." Judai muttered.

_"Thanks Aniki. I'll see you next year, okay?"_ Sho replied.

"Yeah… okay." Judai spoke, even quieter than before.

"_Alright, bye."_ And with that, Sho hung up without waiting for a response.

Judai kept his phone against his ear until he heard the long beep. He stared at the screen for what felt like forever. He wouldn't be seeing Sho. Or Ryo, or Manjoume, or Asuka. It was their tenth reunion and some of his closest friends wouldn't be there. He had to admit it hurt, but Sho was right. He had other friends that would be there and it wasn't the last reunion. It just still really, really hurt.

"Judai-kun, why not call someone else, nya?" Daitokuji suggested.

Judai looked over a bit to see Daitokuji floating next to him. A stranger walked by, passing right through the man as if he wasn't really there. Technically he wasn't, and yet technically he was. Being a spirit made things a bit complicated.

Judai slowly nodded his head in agreement and looked back down at his phone. He continued walking towards the lake since standing still might make him look out of place. He selected one of his contacts and put the phone against his ear again. He was certain that hearing someone was sure they would be there would cheer him up. The phone rang for a moment before the person on the other end picked up.

"_Oh hey, Judai! Glad you called! I take it it's about the reunion?" _Fubuki greeted.

"Fubuki-san, hey, yeah. I was just calling to see if you could make it. Sho already called and said he and the others wouldn't be able to show up." Judai replied.

_"Yeah, Ryo called me earlier today about that actually." _Fubuki said.

"Soooo… are you… able to come?" Judai asked.

The other end of the line was silent for a moment before Fubuki let out a comically exaggerated sigh.

_"I'm so, so, so, _so _sorry Judai! I can't. I'm gonna start filming for a new movie in a week and they'll need me here a couple days before that. It's a doozy of a project so filming will take up a few months. Oh! Don't tell anyone though, it hasn't been officially announced yet."_ Fubuki revealed.

After hearing Sho and the others' were unable to come, Judai just felt numb to Fubuki saying the same thing. It was a disappointment that was hard to swallow, but he somehow managed to do it anyway.

"It's… it's fine…" Judai responded.

_"It doesn't sound like it is."_ Fubuki noted.

"It's not." Judai muttered.

_"I know, I know. I'm disappointed too, but I have a job. I got responsibilities. I'm famous so I'm literally always busy. It's just gotten to be more and more over the years. I've noticed it's the same way for Ryo and Asuka too. I assume for Sho and Manjoume as well. We all have lives that take priority and responsibilities that come with being an adult with a job." _Fubuki said.

Right, responsibilities. Judai didn't have any of that. He had no job and no one that relied on him. Nothing he was obligated to do. It was just Judai and himself. If he needed money he just used what his parents gave him access to or found a free, and obviously fair, way to get what he needed at the moment. He wasn't really sure what it was like to wake up and go to work then come home to the same place and do it all over again every single day. He was so used to his life as it was now that he wondered if settling down somewhere and getting a job would drive him mad.

_"Hey so, I needa go, but it was good to hear from you. Sorry I can't make it, but tell everyone else that goes that I said hi, alright?"_ Fubuki spoke.

"Uh, okay. Yeah uh, bye… Fubuki-san." Judai replied.

_"...Bye Judai."_ Fubuki responded before hanging up.

Judai let out a sigh and pulled his phone away from his ear. He immediately called another friend and put his phone back against his ear.

"C'mon. Pick up, pick up, pick up." Judai muttered to himself.

_"Yo, Aniki!"_ Kenzan greeted.

"Kenzan, hey! Uh, just wanted to call to see if you can still make it to the reunion next week." Judai told him.

Kenzan was silent for a long time and Judai wondered if the line went dead.

_"Oh crap! That's _next _week, saurus!?"_ Kenzan exclaimed in surprise.

Judai yanked his phone away from his ear, but it was already too late.

"Yeah. Second Saturday of September, every year. It's never not been that." Judai reminded him.

_"It's September, don!? Crap! Where's the calendar!?" _Kenzan shouted.

Judai remained silent as he heard Kenzan frantically walking around and rummaging through things in his apartment. He then heard what sounded like Kenzan slap the surface of something.

_"Okay, September… damn, where did the days go? Uhh, oh… Um, sorry Aniki." _Kenzan suddenly apologized.

Judai stood still on the park's pathway again.

"You too?" Judai grumbled.

_"Yeah, that's when me and the team go out to an excavation site, saurus. Wait, who else can't go?" _Kenzan asked.

"At least Sho, Manjoume, Asuka, Kaiser, and Fubuki-san." Judai answered.

_"Oh damn. That's like, just about everyone, saurus."_ Kenzan noted.

"Yeah, I know." Judai muttered.

_"Well… sorry to be another person that's crossed off the list. Man, I feel so bad now. I mean, I have no say in when we schedule stuff, but…"_ Kenzan trailed off.

"No, don't beat yourself up over it. It's not your fault, Kenzan. You've got… responsibilities. That should come first." Judai said.

_"Yeah, but… Ugh, I don't wanna miss the reunion, saurus! It's gonna be the tenth one! That's huge, don! Well, officially ninth for me. But still!" _Kenzan responded.

"There's… there's always next year." Judai mumbled.

Kenzan groaned. _"Doesn't make this suck any less."_

Judai didn't know what to say back after that.

_"Gaaah!"_ Kenzan shouted, making Judai have to pull his phone away again. _"I'm sorry I can't come Aniki, seriously. I guess just… check with the rest of the group, saurus. There's gotta be someone that can still make it."_

"I hope." Judai remarked.

_"Oh crap! No, no, no, no! I gotta go, Aniki! Bye!" _Kenzan exclaimed before immediately hanging up.

Judai just stared at his phone with wide eyes, wondering what could have happened that suddenly needed Kenzan's attention that badly. It became evident that even if they were all adults now, some of the group was better at 'adulting' than the rest. Judai started walking again and tried the next contact on his list. He needed someone to say they could make it. As long as there was one person that would be there then things would be okay. It just had to be one of them.

The line rang for quite a while and Judai was worried it would end up going to voicemail, but thankfully the other end picked up.

"Hey, Edo I-"

_"Phoenix-sama is in an interview right now. Sorry, please call him back later."_

Judai realized Edo's assistant answered his phone.

"Uh, w-wait! Um, will Edo be available this Saturday?" Judai quickly asked.

_"No. Phoenix-sama has his week filled with interviews and commercial shoots. The latest he will be free won't be until Monday."_ She told him.

"Oh… alright, thanks." Judai said in disappointment.

_"You can leave your name and a message for him if you like."_ She offered.

"No, it's fine. I don't wanna bother him if he's busy." Judai refused.

_"Alright then, sir."_ And with that she hung up.

"Ugggh!" Judai loudly groaned. "Well… I guess I shoulda expected Edo would be busy. He's always had to rearrange his schedule for this."

"I'm sorry things aren't working out Judai-kun, nya." Daitokuji said.

Judai just shook his head. "I've got two shots left. I can't lose all hope just yet."

Judai made another call and waited for the line to stop ringing.

_"Judai? Ugh, do you have any idea what time it is right now?"_ O'Brien grumbled.

"Well, I'm in Canada and I think the sun's about to set so… no." Judai responded.

O'Brien simply sighed. _"Why are you in Canada?"_

"I dunno." Judai stated.

_"O...kay. Well, why are you calling?"_ O'Brien asked.

"The… the reunion…" Judai mumbled.

O'Brien let out a groan. _"Right, I was gonna call you in the morning about that."_

"So you can't make it then?" Judai assumed, bracing for the disappointment.

_"No, I'm sorry. I have a… business related trip I have to take." _O'Brien explained.

"Seriously?" Judai replied, unintentionally sounding annoyed.

_"Yes, seriously. I can't do anything about it. I would have tried talking to my boss, but… you can't exactly reschedule with the government."_ O'Brien told him.

"No, no. I understand, really. It's just… so far no one else can make it either." Judai said.

_"Oh…"_ O'Brien sighed. _"Well, life gets in the way."_

"Yeah, so I've discovered. Well, um… you talk to Jim often, right? Do you think-"

_"I can assure you Jim cannot afford that kind of trip." _O'Brien cut off Judai.

"Okay…" Judai muttered.

_"Sorry, I just- I already know the answer to that and if everyone else has said they can't show then there's no need to disappoint yourself further." _O'Brien apologized.

"No, that's totally fair. Just had to ask anyway… Welp, sorry for waking you. I won't keep you any longer." Judai said.

O'Brien was quiet for a moment.

_"Are you doing okay?"_ He suddenly asked.

"Huh? Uh, yeah. I'm fine as always, just… ugh, this sucks." Judai admitted.

_"Yeah. Trust me, I would love to go, but I have responsibilities. When my job needs me to do something I can't just push it aside for my own plans."_ O'Brien stated.

"I know. You all have jobs and adult lives and responsibilities and all that. I get it." Judai grumbled.

O'Brien was silent again.

_"You think it's about time you go back home? I mean, find somewhere permanent to live and get a job like the rest of us. I know you've learned a lot about the world, so I'm sure you could find something to do. I bet the pro league would accept you just like that."_ O'Brien suggested.

"I… Even if I wanted to live an average life I can't imagine I would be any good at it. I've been out here for a decade. I don't even know if I would fit back in society. Or if I ever even fit in at all..." Judai replied.

_"Move back in with your parents then. I still live with mine and everything's just fine. That way you can ease your way back into society. I'm sure they'll help you."_ O'Brien advised.

Judai knew his parents would welcome him back with open arms, but that didn't mean it wouldn't still be awkward for him. After graduating he never dropped by to visit them. They've called and texted each other before and Judai has sent them presents plenty of times, but he hadn't seen them in person in at least ten years. He hadn't even been back to his hometown at all. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to see it again.

"I-I'll think about it." Judai lied.

_"Okay, good... Ugh, I can't stay awake any longer. I gotta go back to sleep. Bye, Judai."_ O'Brien responded.

"Bye, man." Judai said and was first to end the call.

With a sigh, the brunet looked up and realized he was at the lake. It wasn't exactly crystal clear and beautiful, it was kind of muddy looking actually. He wondered if he cast a line if he would catch any strange looking fish. If it weren't illegal he would probably actually try. Judai learned the hard way awhile back to always check the fishing laws wherever he went. He still felt bad about making his parents pay for that fine. Glancing over, Judai noticed a bench and went to sit down. Yubel and Daitokuji appeared on either side of him, sitting on the bench with him. Winged Kuriboh even appeared as well, but quickly fluttered off somewhere else. It was quiet between them all as Judai simply watched the waves of the lake.

"Don't you think you should call him? He's the last one." Yubel finally spoke up.

"I know, but… I'm worried not even he'll be able to show up." Judai said, still staring at the water.

"You'll never know unless you call, nya." Daitokuji advised.

Judai glanced down at his phone. It's true, he really wouldn't know unless he called. He was Judai's last hope at still having the reunion. Even if it ultimately was just the two of them, that would be enough for Judai. So he pressed the call button and put the phone up to his ear. Each time it rang Judai felt his pulse get faster.

_"You've reached Johan Andersen."_

"Johan! Hey, it's-"

_"I can't answer the phone right now, but feel free to call me later or leave a message and I'll get back to you as quick as I can."_

It was his voicemail. Johan didn't answer. Judai threw his phone on the ground, which startled Daitokuji, and he pulled his knees up to his chest.

"You know he might just be asleep considering time zones and all. The O'Brien one was also asleep." Yubel stated.

"That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt!" Judai exclaimed.

Daitokuji wanted to comfort his former student, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He glanced at Yubel, who simply crossed their arms and looked like they were thinking.

"I don't want things to change…" Judai muttered.

"Oh, Judai-kun… I'm sorry, nya." Daitokuji said, unable to come up with anything better.

"I'm losing everyone, I just know it. We're finally drifting apart." Judai struggled to say thanks to his voice becoming shaky.

Daitokuji nervously moved his hands around, but knowing he couldn't physically interact with Judai, he had no idea what to actually do with them. He looked at Yubel again, who hadn't even bothered to spare a glance at Judai, which was very uncharacteristic of them. Daitokuji heard Winged Kuriboh let out a few noises as the duel spirit came back over to Judai's side. The man looked over at the spirit to see a little kid come running up after it.

"Kuri, kuri." Winged Kuriboh whined.

"Hey mister, is this your Kuriboh?" The little boy asked.

Judai glanced over to see the boy looking at him and pointing towards Winged Kuriboh. The brunet wiped away the tears that had formed in his eyes.

"You… can see Winged Kuriboh?" Judai questioned.

"Huh? Yeah, 'course I can! It's real cute! I got one too, see!" The boy turned around to reveal the stuffed Kuriboh keychain hooked onto his backpack.

A small smile formed on Judai's face. "Well ain't that cute. Be sure to take care of it, okay? You don't want it getting dirty."

"I know, but my baby brother might mess it up anyway." He said and pouted.

Judai simply chuckled at him.

"Come on honey! It's getting late! We need to leave!"

"Oh that's my mom, I gotta go. Bye mister! And bye ghost man and ghost lady! And Kuriboh too!" He said before running off.

"Kurii!" Winged Kuriboh chirped.

"L-lady…?" Yubel groaned in annoyance.

"It's really nice to see the kids of the world enjoying their childhood." Judai said.

"You say that like you didn't enjoy yours, nya." Daitokuji noted.

"No, I did. I even miss it… a lot. But I gotta admit, I had too much on my shoulders too often back then for just being a kid." Judai claimed.

Daitokuji looked away and frowned, realizing at least some portion of that was his fault. Yubel didn't seem to acknowledge any of the blame that was theirs however.

"I think about wanting to go back to those days pretty often, but then I think about everything that's happened during those years… and I don't want any of that." Judai stood up from the bench. "I just want the good ol' days back. Just those days and none of the bad ones. After all, despite everything those were the greatest days of my life. No other time in my life was that fun or that interesting." Judai got down on one knee in front of his phone. "I made the closest friends I've ever had at Duel Academy. I can barely even remember the names of anyone I hung out with in junior high. And that was only like, two or three people at most."

Judai picked up his phone and flipped it over, turning on the screen. He noticed he had a text message from Johan and quickly opened it to see what it said.

'Hey sorry did you just call me?'

Judai hurried to text back in the hopes that Johan was still up.

'yea i wanted to ask if ur coming to the reunion'

Judai stood back up with his phone and walked back over to the bench. Daitokuji watched him with a confused expression while Yubel focused on the lake.

'Im sorry I cant. The season is currently ongoing and Ive got matches for weeks straight. Cant reschedule either.'

Judai turned his phone's screen off and placed it in his lap. He didn't feel anything other than a giant void forming in his entire body. Neither Daitokuji or Yubel knew what made him look even more down in the dumps. They just assumed it was disappointment over Johan not calling back. Winged Kuriboh flew over and tried to nuzzle against Judai, but the spirit just ended up phasing through him a bit.

"What am I supposed to do now…? This is the only thing I look forward to. I guess really, it's the only thing I have. Am I just supposed to show up by myself? I don't- I don't…" Judai trailed off, not sure what else to say.

"Go home." Yubel blurted out.

Judai and Daitokuji simply looked at them.

"Ugh, you heard what the O'Brien one told you. Go home to your parents. Figure out what to do from there. Maybe some time home will help you choose between continuing to travel and deciding to have a life similar to everyone else." Yubel clarified.

"It has been ten years… Well, technically thirteen since I never went home over semester break. They probably would like to see me." Judai said.

"Oh, of course! You could have a reunion with your parents, nya!" Daitokuji happily suggested.

"A reunion… with my parents…" Judai repeated as he stared at the lake.

And so, the next morning Judai immediately hopped on a bus to the nearest airport. He was headed home for the first time in thirteen years. It felt weird to know where he was headed without it being Duel Academy. He finally had some kind of agency, even if it was just for going home. He always just went wherever the world pushed him, but now he was making a decision on where to go, and of all the places to choose, it turned out to be home. To the small town right next to Domino City.

Eventually Judai found himself walking down a very familiar street. He had grown since the last time he saw his old neighborhood so everything felt a bit smaller. It was clear some families had moved out and new ones moved in in their places. He spotted some unfamiliar little kids playing in a yard and he found it so strange that the last time he was home, those kids didn't even exist yet. So much of his neighborhood had grown and changed, and yet it still felt the same. Almost like Duel Academy.

It was noon on a Wednesday so he wasn't sure if his parents were at work. They might have been, but he had no idea if they had different jobs than they used to or if their hours had changed or something. When he knocked on the door would anyone answer? Perhaps calling them in advance would have been a good idea. After all, it's not like he left for Duel Academy with a spare house key on him. Although, he could probably try getting in through a window. But if someone saw he they might not know it was his parent's house and would think he was breaking in. Either way, it was too late now so he just had to hope someone was home.

Remembering his address, Judai came up to his parent's house and stopped at the door. He was home. He was really home after thirteen years. It felt weird coming home for the first time in forever at twenty-eight. In a way, it felt like was seventeen again and coming home after graduating from Duel Academy. Almost as if the past ten years never happened. With a deep breath, Judai braced himself and knocked on the front door. It took a minute, but the door handle suddenly moved and Judai immediately felt his heart beat faster. The door opened to reveal his mom and the moment she saw her son, her eyes widened.

"Uh… I'm home." Judai awkwardly said.

"Judai!" His mom exclaimed as she quickly put her arms around her son.

It felt weird at first. It was his mom so it was nice, of course, but it was thirteen years since he last saw her in person, so it seemed almost foreign. He couldn't remember what a hug from his mom felt like. Regardless, he hugged her back. He was happy to know for certain that he was welcomed back home after he had been gone so long.

"Oh sweetie, please come in. You must've had a long trip back." She said, tugging Judai inside by his hand.

"Not really. I was only in Canada when I decided to come home." Judai said, closing the door behind him.

"Canada? Oh you really must tell us about all the places you've been. I know you send us souvenirs and postcards, but it'll be much nicer to hear about your travels straight from you." She responded.

They stepped into the dining room and Judai sat down at the table.

"Let me go get your father." His mom said before leaving the room.

Judai looked around the room. Everything looked the same. Same wall color, same plants, same dining table, same chairs. As Judai looked at the chair across from him, he felt like he could see someone sitting there. He glanced down and saw a playmat set down with cards over it. It was like he was a kid again. He spotted Yubel's card on the table and realized what he was seeing. It was the memories he supposedly forgot about. Since reuniting with Yubel all those memories had come back to him, but being back at that same table where people got hurt all the time made him uncomfortable. He couldn't do it, he had to get up. He couldn't see that any longer. As he stood up it all disappeared and he focused on staring out the window.

"Judai, son!"

Judai whirled around to see a big smile on his dad's face. The man ran up to his son and hugged Judai. Judai was a bit unprepared for it, but he was glad to see his dad again anyway.

"What made you come home?" His dad asked.

"Uh, actually… there might be a long story that goes along with that." Judai answered.

"Oh, then let me make something." His mom offered as she quickly started walking to the kitchen. "You're probably hungry, huh? I always worry if you're eating enough."

Judai chuckled slightly. "I can assure you I'm eating just fine. But having a home cooked meal would be pretty nice."

"C'mon, let's catch up." Judai's dad said, putting his arm around his son's shoulders.

They two walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. Judai took his bag off and laid it down next to him. Even the living room still looked exactly the same.

"So, why are you guys home right now? Don't you have work?" Judai wondered.

"We both retired early. KaibaCorp is very kind to its employees." His dad explained.

"Oh really. Huh." Judai responded.

"Okay, so really. Why are you home? You didn't let us know so I take it this wasn't really planned." His dad questioned.

"Nah, it really wasn't. You guys know my friends and I do a reunion at Duel Academy every year." Judai started.

"Oh yes, you send us pictures every year. You really should tell us more about each of your friends." His mom said from the kitchen.

"Yeah… well, every year all of us are always there and this year…" Judai let out a sigh. "Not a single one of 'em are able to make it. I guess it's just made me do a lot of rethinking. It's work related for all of them and it just kinda… put into perspective that I don't have a job or responsibilities or a normal life or whatever… I guess… I dunno."

"So you came home to figure out what to do?" His dad assumed.

Judai nodded his head. "I suppose. I'm still not entirely sure what I'm doing. I guess just after ten years of travelling, it's time I find something new to do."

"You know your father and I will always support you no matter what. You take as long as you need to find that something and we'll help however we can." His mom said.

"Your mother's right. We're here for you, Judai." His dad agreed.

Judai couldn't stop the smile that formed on his face. "Thanks Mom. Dad."

Judai's mom made fried shrimp, knowing it was her son's favorite. She set the dining table with some help from Judai and the three sat down at the table to have a family dinner.

"Ohhh maaan! I haven't had fried shrimp this good in years! Ah, I missed your cooking Mom!" Judai sang praises as he stuffed his mouth full.

His parents chuckled at their son.

"So how long do you think you'll be staying? Are you home for good or…?" His mom wondered.

Judai slowed down his eating as he thought.

"Well," He started before swallowing his food. "I would like to go to Duel Academy for the reunion even if it's just gonna be me. Samejima always expects us to be there every year anyway and I'm sure he would be worried if suddenly no one showed up. Other than that, I dunno. I still dunno what I'm gonna do."

"Do you want to get a job? I'm sure you've learned enough while travelling that there's plenty of things you could do." His dad questioned.

Judai scarfed down another shrimp. "Yeah, that is an option, it's just… I dunno what I wanna do. I don't really feel drawn towards anything and obviously I can't just get bored of a job. I'd have to stick with it."

"Well you've always loved dueling. That's why you wanted to go to Duel Academy." His mom stated.

Judai nodded. "I know. But you know I've never wanted to be a pro. I do really love dueling, but I want it to be something that's fun. I wanna enjoy a duel, not hinge my career on it. And according to my friends some duels are staged and I'd rather not play like that."

His parents looked at each other and tried to think. Meanwhile, Judai went back to chowing down on the shrimp in front of him.

"Why not share what you know?" His dad blurted out.

Judai stopped and looked up at his dad.

"What do ya mean?" Judai asked.

"You love dueling and you love Duel Academy. You want to enjoy dueling and you don't want to be a pro. At Duel Academy you can enjoy dueling by teaching it to the younger generation." His dad explained.

Judai's gaze dropped down to his plate, confusing his parents. Judai did truly love Duel Academy. It felt more like a home to him than his parent's place did. He loved going back every year, not only to see his friends, but to just see the school as well. It was the place where he felt most at peace. If he could, he would choose to stay at Duel Academy forever and if he became a teacher then he could get almost exactly that.

"I'll… have to think about that." Judai said, not wanting to fully commit to the idea just yet.

"You take as long as you need to think things through, sweetie. There's no pressure." His mom assured him.

It was comforting to Judai to know his parents cared so much about him. As much as he knew they loved him, even when he was younger he just felt like they weren't around enough. Granted, they had jobs back then and Judai did fine on his own, but he felt like he missed out on a few things by not having them around that often. Now that Judai was an adult and his parents didn't work anymore things already felt a lot better. He didn't feel like sticking around for too long though, so he doubted it would last long.

Judai enjoyed the rest of his meal with his parents and relaxed in the living room with them. He showed off dozens and dozens of photos he'd taken over the years. Plenty of them were from the places he visited and he had a different story to go with each one. A couple of them made his parents worried about what kind of trouble their son was getting into, but he assured them he really was fine on his own. Judai's parents then caught Judai up on what had been happening in the neighborhood. Who got married, who went to college, who moved away, and who moved in. He didn't really remember anyone in the neighborhood, but a few names did feel familiar to him. He briefly considered going around and meeting people, but since he wasn't sure if he would be coming back after visiting the academy he ultimately decided against it.

Judai let out a yawn and took a second to stretch his arms. He could see out the window that it was already night and he almost couldn't believe the time went by so fast.

"Getting tired, sport?" His dad asked.

"Huh? Oh uh, yeah I guess. I didn't sleep too well at the bus station." Judai said.

"Bus station!? Judai!" His mom exclaimed.

"Uh- uh- uh… D-don't worry! I'm f-"

"Did you really sleep at a bus station!? You could get sick, or even mugged! Are you even sleeping properly? Are you even _bathing_ properly? Judai, when was the last time you bathed?" His mom interrogated.

"Huh!? Uh, well… U-um…" Judai trailed off.

"Judai!" His mom called his name in both a disappointed and accusatory tone.

"Oh, c'mon! I didn't even say anything!" Judai whined.

"You can't win this one, kiddo. Just do your mom a favor and go wash up." His dad advised.

"And let me wash all your clothes too. I doubt you've had clean laundry in years. And isn't that your school jacket?" His mom questioned.

Judai looked down at himself. "Uh, yeah."

"Judai!" His mom called out again. "You've been wearing that same jacket for at least ten years!?"

"Yes! There's nothing wrong with it!" Judai frantically shouted back thanks to his mom making him nervous.

"I'm washing it right now. Hand it over." She demanded.

Judai groaned and he could hear Yubel snickering in his head as he took his jacket off before handing it to his mom. He eventually gave her the other clothes in his bag as well and once he got in the bath, she also took what he was wearing earlier. Judai couldn't believe how quickly things took a turn. Apparently no matter how long a kid was away, a mom was still always a mom. But despite practically getting chewed out, Judai had to admit it had been a long while since he was able to enjoy a relaxing bath. He was so used to his new lifestyle that he forgot what it was like to live in a house all the time.

"Ah, now this is the life." Judai said to himself.

"And this is quite the sight."

Judai's eyes widened and he quickly looked over to see Yubel bent over the tub, watching Judai with a lovestruck look on their face. Even Daitokuji was in the room, but he was sitting on top of the hamper and thankfully facing away from Judai.

"Y-Y-Yubel! Look away!" Judai shouted and tried to cover Yubel's face, but his hands just phased through them.

"What's wrong? There's no need to be so modest around me." Yubel said.

"What's wrong is that I should have privacy in the bathroom! And _you_ being here is just weird! You're my former teacher ya know!" Judai pointed at Daitokuji.

"Oh, that is a _very_ good point, nya. Sorry, I was just following after Yubel's lead, nya." Daitokuji apologized and faded away.

"Now that we're alone Judai-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there. This is not, nor will it ever be, the time for that. Now can I please have some privacy!" Judai demanded.

"Oh, you're no fun." Yubel whined and pouted before fading away.

Judai groaned and leaned back in the tub.

"After ten years you'd think they'd learn, but nooo…" He grumbled.

After his bath, Judai's mom brought him his laundry and he changed into his other outfit. His mom wouldn't stop complaining about how old his clothes were and how little he had to begin with. She made the decision herself to take him clothes shopping tomorrow, but Judai kept protesting, insisting he was fine with what he had and needed to carry as little as possible while he travelled. They eventually came to a compromise and agreed that if Judai ultimately chose to stay home then they would go clothes shopping after he returned from visiting the academy.

Getting too sleepy, his parents showed Judai to his room, which hadn't been touched since he left for Duel Academy. It changed somewhat since he was a little kid into a room more fit for a teenager. His old game console was still sitting on the shelf under his television. Clothes that were much too small for him by now were hanging in his closet. A bunch of his old drawings were neatly stacked together on his desk with his collection of crayons and colored pencils in a box nearby. The sheets on his bed were neatly tucked in and he felt a bit embarrassed over seeing the Duel Monsters print on his blanket and pillow cases. It made his bed look like a face down card.

"We, uh, left it this way in case you came home." His dad said.

"Thanks." Judai replied as he continued to look around the room.

"We'll let you get some rest now. Come on, dear." His mom pulled his dad out of the room and closed the door, leaving Judai by himself.

The brunet sat down on his bed and dropped his bag on the floor. Yubel and Daitokuji appeared in the room and began looking around.

"I haven't seen this room in, what? At least twenty years?" Yubel noted.

"Yeah, something like that." Judai agreed.

"Your parents have a lovely home, nya." Daitokuji complimented.

Judai just nodded as he leaned back in bed. He eventually got under the sheets and Winged Kuriboh appeared to curl up beside him. Yubel and Daitokuji faded away to give him some privacy, learning from their mistake in the bathroom. It felt nice to Judai to be back in his old bed. It did feel a bit stiff though, but probably because no one had been in it for thirteen years. He let out a sigh and finally drifted off to sleep.

In the morning Judai's mom made him breakfast and the three of them worked out plans for the day as they ate. Judai decided to leave Friday afternoon so he could make it to Duel Academy by Saturday morning. His parents went ahead and made the decision to buy a plane ticket for him. The academy made the necessary renovations a couple years ago to allow small planes to land on the island since the number of students that attended each year had grown exponentially.

After breakfast, Judai spent the day out with his parents. They loaded up in the car and went into the city. There wasn't really much he actually wanted to do or see. He simply let his parents drag him around and talk about things that changed. Yubel and Daitokuji seemed to enjoy themselves as they looked around on their own.

Judai eventually sat down on the edge of a large fountain as his parents stepped away to buy some drinks from a stand. Judai looked down to check his phone just in case anyone actually managed to reschedule their previous plans. He had texts from both Sho and Johan asking if he was okay. He assumed a few of the others talked with each other and eventually everyone knew what the situation was. He didn't really feel like talking to them though and decided if he was going to say anything it would be after he got to Duel Academy.

"Yuki-san?"

Judai quickly looked up and flinched when he came face to face with a young woman staring him down. She looked more curious than anything.

"Uh… yes?" Judai responded.

"It is you, Yuki-san! Do you remember me? We went to junior high together!" She cheerfully said.

Judai stared at her for a moment. He barely remembered anyone from before Duel Academy and he was sure she wasn't one of his old friends. After taking a second to think, Judai did recall there was a girl with black hair and blue eyes that always spoke very formally. The woman in front of him looked a lot like her.

"Yeah, I think I do." Judai replied.

"Wow, it's so crazy to see you again! I heard you got into that duelist academy for high school. How have you been?" She asked.

Yubel immediately floated up and leaned in close to the woman's face with an angry glare. Judai got worried, but had to act like he couldn't see it.

"Um, well… I graduated from Duel Academy and I've just been travelling the world since then. I just got back home yesterday." Judai explained.

"Really? I never would have expected you of all people to travel the world. You were always known as the slacker back in school." She noted.

"Y-yeah…" Judai muttered and rubbed the back of his head. "So, how have you been?"

"Well, I got married after high school. My husband is a doctor and this is our little girl. Say hi sweetie." She said.

Judai looked down to finally notice the young girl partially hiding behind her mom. Judai thought she couldn't be more than five or so. She nervously waved at him so he smiled and waved back.

"Oh, she's the shy type. It was nice to see you again, Yuki-san. I was just running some errands so I need to get going." She spoke as she patted her daughter on the head.

"Yeah, you too." Judai responded.

She waved as she continued on walking with her daughter trailing behind her. Judai just watched as she disappeared into the crowd of people.

"Care to explain who that was?" Yubel asked, not bothering to hide the jealousy in their voice.

"Someone from back in junior high. I don't even remember her name. We barely spoke in the first place. Geez, relax. She's married now anyway." Judai reassured them.

Daitokuji appeared on the other side of Judai and watched the young man for a moment.

"There's already people from school with kids now…" Judai muttered.

"Well you are close to hitting your thirties, nya. Most people who want families would reasonable have them by now, nya." Daitokuji noted.

"Wouldn't kids be nice, Judai?" Yubel said, putting a hand against their own cheek.

Judai side-eyed his partner. "Don't get ahead of yourself now. And I doubt that's even possible in our situation."

Yubel groaned and Daitokuji chuckled a bit, but a death glare from Yubel made him abruptly stop.

"Still…" Judai started, making the other two turn their attention to him. "It's just weird to see people I knew as a kid get married and have families while I've done… nothing."

"Judai-kun, everyone goes about life at their own pace. Not everyone needs to settle down and get married, nya. You've accomplished plenty of things anyway, nya. How many people have seen as much as you have of the world in just ten years?" Daitokuji reassured him.

Judai looked up at his former teacher. He did understand that, but he couldn't help but feel like he was behind everyone anyway. He was only just now trying to figure out what to do with his life while others were already living theirs. It wasn't like he viewed the past ten years as a complete waste, but suddenly uproot himself from his travels and turning down a completely different road made him feel like he was starting all over again from square one.

His parents finally came back with drinks, mentioning something about a long line. Judai just put on a fake smile and went about the rest of the day as if everything was fine. He didn't really understand why he was so bothered by his interaction with the woman from junior high. None of his friends from Duel Academy had kids or got married. Everyone was just focused on their jobs, so it was like looking at a different side of life for Judai. All he considered was finding somewhere permanent to stay and possibly getting a job. He never thought about the option of having a family. Of course, considering his relationship with Yubel he felt confident that a proper family was out of the question. He wasn't even sure that he actually wanted that. He didn't feel like being a parent was something he would be good at anyway.

Judai and his parents eventually returned home. His mom made dinner and this time Judai helped out. Judai was quiet as they ate and his parents picked up on that, but they assumed he just had a lot to think about before he left. The family chatted more in the living room after dinner until it got late. Once again, Judai took a bath and headed off to bed.

He couldn't fall asleep as easily as last night since he had too much running through his head. He would be leaving for Duel Academy tomorrow. It almost felt like a deja vu moment to him. He could clearly remember the night thirteen years ago when he first left for Duel Academy at fifteen years old. He barely got any sleep since he was so excited. He didn't do too good on the written exam and showed up late to the practical exam, but he still passed anyway.

Judai realized that in a way, he really was starting all over. He was back in that same moment, but thirteen years older. He wondered if being a teacher was really a good idea. He thought he would need some kind of teaching degree, but considering all the good he did for Duel Academy, even if some of it started off bad because of him, he had a feeling Samejima would happily welcome him as a member of the staff. Or Saiou would. He wasn't really sure how the hiring process went and Saiou was the new chairman while Samejima was just the headmaster.

Judai would figure out the specifics later. He was just worried if he would actually do a good job teaching or not. He didn't have much experience with kids, but Duel Academy was a high school so there weren't actually toddlers running around. Remembering how he and his friends were as teenagers, they could be mature one minute and acting like complete buffoons the next. They matured more with each passing school year as well. He felt like teaching people just like that couldn't be too hard. Judai himself was rather laid back anyway and considering his past experience with teachers, the nicer they were the more relaxed he felt in their class. So as long as he was a nice teacher his students would be nice back, well for the most part. There were still people like Manjoume no matter what. But that would be part of the fun. Making friends with all his students no matter who they were.

Perhaps that's why he should be a teacher. To reach out to all the kids that were like his friends. The initially shy and insecure ones like Sho. The egotistical ones who used it as a cover up like Manjoume. The ones who seemed perfect but cracked once that image was ruined like Ryo. The ones with no drive that believed they would never graduate like Hayato. And the ones with a lot of potential that just needed help letting that potential grow like Judai himself. He wanted to make sure all the young duelists like him and his friends were able to prosper. He wanted to help the next generation do even better than the last.

And so Judai was finally positive that he really wanted to teach at Duel Academy.

He awoke in the morning to have breakfast again with his parents. He told them he was sure he wouldn't be coming back any time soon and despite it being tough to accept, they were still happy Judai found what he wanted to do next. Judai packed what little he had and his parents drove him to the airport. It was a long drive so it took a few hours. The family simply took their remaining time together to chat a bit more. It felt like they could never run out of stuff to talk about, considering there was ten years worth of things to say on both sides.

They finally arrived at the airport a bit after noon. His parents asked if he wanted them to stay while he waited for his flight. He told them they didn't have to do that. And so the family hugged and his mom nagged him about making sure he ate enough and bathed regularly. Judai groaned, but appreciated that his parents cared so much anyway. They struggled with standing by as they watched their son walk into the airport. He turned and flashed a big smile as he waved at them and they knew he would be okay. He was on his own for ten years so there was no reason he wouldn't be perfectly fine at Duel Academy. It reminded them of when he left the first time. They were so worried that he would struggle only to eventually drop out, but he persevered and made it all the way to graduation even despite everything they heard he went through. Since he never came home after that they felt like they lost their boy the day he left for the academy, but seeing him finally come home told them that he simply grew up quicker than they thought he did. As Judai disappeared inside the airport, they were confident they did a good job raising a wonderful young man.

In the airport, Judai waited for his flight by himself. It was rather uneventful since it wasn't his first ever flight. Daitokuji and Yubel did some people watching since they didn't have much to say themselves. Judai checked his phone and noticed he had even more texts from his friends. This time from Asuka, O'Brien, and Fubuki. Despite now knowing what he wanted to do, he still didn't feel like talking. He wasn't mad or upset at anyone, but just thinking about the reunion still hurt a bit. He only hoped he wasn't worrying everyone by not responding.

"So do you know what you're going to do?" Yubel inquired.

Judai looked over his shoulder to see Yubel.

"Yeah, I've decided I wanna teach at Duel Academy." Judai stated.

Yubel's eyes widened a bit and Daitokuji quickly turned to face his former student.

"Oh, so following in my footsteps, nya?" Daitokuji assumed.

Judai just chuckled. "You can think of it like that if you want. I just… I just think the best place I could ever be is at Duel Academy. And I wanna help out the kids there that're like me and my friends."

"What a noble cause, nya. You've certainly grown up since you were a student there, nya." Daitokuji commented.

"Ya think? I just hope I can do the best for them." Judai said.

"Of course you will. You've always done your best." Yubel assured him.

Judai smiled at Yubel and they smiled back.

He eventually heard his flight called and got up from his seat to board. Even if he would arrive at Duel Academy alone, it was still okay. Because Judai had a new reason for going back. A reason that pushed him in a new direction and gave him his drive back. Judai was finally going home for good. To his real home.

To Duel Academy.


	2. Bonds

Edit: Fixed a few things. And I don't know why the word count is so much higher on this chapter than it should be. I don't know what it counts as words or not.

* * *

Duel Academy was still located on a small island in the middle of the ocean. It still had a volcano as well, which no one ever seemed concerned about. The main school building still stood as tall and proud as ever. Although a few additions were made to accommodate the increased size of the student body. Parts of the school system had been overhauled over the years. The female students were no longer automatically placed in Obelisk Blue and instead separate girls' dorms were built for Ra Yellow and Osiris Red so they could be placed into dorms the same way as the boys. Thanks to Judai's legacy at Duel Academy, the incoming students the year after he graduated had a large amount that wanted to be placed in Osiris Red, which kept the red dorm alive. The dorm even had to be expanded upon to allow them all to stay there without overcrowding. However, the girl's dorm was much smaller since there were very few girls that belonged to Osiris Red.

Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue stayed about the same, but most of the hierarchy feel to each dorm had been removed. Over time Osiris stopped being considered the worst and Obelisk had less restrictions for entering. Each dorm had a unique feel to it that made students get sorted by what fit them best rather than their skill level. However, that didn't mean history was completely forgotten. The occasional Obelisk student still looked down on the Osiris students simply due to its history of containing the weakest duelists.

As time marched on, so too did the standards of the world and eventually Duel Academy felt forced to make changes to the girls' uniform, which now came with a wider variety of options similar to the boys' uniform. The default girls' uniform also looked almost the same as the boys', but many students still preferred to customize their uniform however they saw fit.

The remains of the old abandoned blue dorm were eventually cleaned up and made room for a greenhouse. The former research facility that Cobra took over long ago was later converted into a planetarium. Before construction got started there were rumors on the island that a skeleton had been discovered nearby. A few students who went spying even reported that a government agent showed up in secret. Most of the students that year brushed it off as only rumors, but the kids that stayed over semester break and managed to spot the group of old students that dropped by every year would say otherwise.

Headmaster Samejima, Professor Cronos, Professor Kabayama, and Ms. Ayukawa were still members of the staff even after ten years. Plenty more teachers were brought on after all the new buildings were completed, but just about every year Judai would get to meet them, so he was already acquainted with everyone. Professor Napoleon never came back after he left with Martin during Judai's third year, but everyone was sure he was off doing better things with his life.

Judai looked out the window of the small plane to see the island below. Everything looked the same as it did last year so far, but who knows what could have changed in the past twelve months. Looking back to the rest of the passengers with him, there were only twenty or so people with him. Most of them were obviously students that were returning to the academy after spending their semester break elsewhere. The others seemed like they might be staff members.

The plane finally landed and everyone slowly unboarded, Judai being last. He stood next to the plane for a moment and just stared out at the school building. Usually coming to Duel Academy every year made him feel so excited, but it was different this time. He wasn't upset at knowing he wasn't there for the reunion, he just felt like his reason for being there was business related now rather than as a vacation. It made him feel a little more serious now that he finally arrived. He was really going through with trying to become a teacher. He wouldn't be a former student returning to reminisce on old times with friends, he would be an educator. One who helped raise up the next generation and pass on everything he knew. He had to take that role seriously.

Judai made his way up to the school building. Everything seemed fairly empty, but that was to be expected since the new semester hadn't started yet. There were still a few stray kids around though so it wasn't like a ghost town. Judai entered the building and continued on directly to Samejima's office.

Samejima himself was sitting in his office looking over the applications of next semester's students. Cronos was standing before his desk and organizing the many documents as they went from one pile to another. Samejima hadn't changed much except for the increased number of wrinkles on his face and the few extra pounds he'd gained. His beard had turned gray over the years, but that was about it. Cronos seemed visibly older as well and his hair had grown longer to the point he needed to put part of it in a bun. Other than that, the two were the same old men as always.

A knock on Samejima's office door brought their attention away from the papers. Samejima was about to tell the person to enter, but the door already opened before he could speak. Judai stepped in and closed the door behind himself before approaching the desk.

"Ah, Judai-kun. Glad to see you back. How has the year treated you?" Samejima greeted.

"The same as every other year, well, for the most part. And how have you two been?" Judai responded.

"Same as always as well." Samejima replied.

"Getting older, experiencing more back pain. You'll start feeling it too soon enough." Cronos told Judai.

The brunet simply let out a nervous chuckle, not wanting to think about getting older than he already was, which wasn't even considered old.

"So everybody will be here for the reunion I presume." Samejima stated.

"Oh, actually, about that…" Judai looked down at the floor, causing the other two to grow confused. "No one can make it. So it's just me this year."

"Oh Judai-kun, I'm sorry." Samejima apologized.

"Well, things happen." Cronos said. "You're all adults and you have families and careers and as you get older those things start to take up more time. I know I don't keep in contact with anyone from my youth anymore."

"I know, I know. I did all the thinking I could think to think on that. But, ya know, it's probably a good thing it didn't work out this year." Judai noted.

"How so? I thought the reunion was important to you." Samejima wondered.

"It is. It's _really_ important. It just… helped me realize I need to start doing adult stuff too. No more aimlessly travelling the world for me." Judai explained.

"Then what will you do?" Cronos inquired, raising a brow at the brunet.

Judai put both his hands down on Samejima's desk. "I wanna teach at Duel Academy."

The two men stared at Judai for what felt like forever. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. Judai wanted to be a teacher. Cronos suddenly burst out laughing and the other two gave him surprised looks.

"Hahahaha! Do you- D-do you even have- hahaha! Do you even have a teaching degree!? You can't just-bwahaha! Can't just come into your old school and demand to be a teacher! No matter how good of a duelist you are! Aaahahaha!" Cronos managed to exclaim through all his laughter.

Judai looked down a bit. He was hoping that part could be skipped. He wasn't really sure what all went into becoming a teacher anyway. He didn't consider he would face any roadblock other than being told no.

"Well I think that's a splendid idea. I'm sure the director would agree as well." Samejima said.

Cronos immediately stopped laughing and Judai looked at him with wide eyes.

"R-really!? Ya mean it!?" Judai shouted.

"Y-you're not serious, are you, Headmaster!? Don't you remember all the trouble he caused while he was a student?" Cronos protested.

"Judai may have been a handful, but we could always rely on him." Samejima noted.

Judai looked taken aback for a moment.

"He was the greatest student we ever had." Samejima continued. "No one has ever been able to live up to his legacy. Even now students still talk about wanting to be like Judai Yuki. That's one of the main reasons the red dorm is still alive after all. Although, it's not exactly up to standard anymore."

"It's not? What's wrong with it?" Judai questioned.

"The teachers in charge of both the boys' and the girls' dorm quit after they suddenly got eloped together and left to go on their honeymoon. That's left both dorms with no teacher in charge. I know it was without a dorm leader for a few years after Daitokuji went missing, but things are a bit stricter nowadays. I can't leave the Osiris students unsupervised." Samejima explained.

Judai quickly leaned far over Samejima's desk. "Then that's perfect! I was in the red dorm! I was what the red dorm was so proud of! I was the last one until my legacy revived it! There's no better place to put me than in charge of the red dorms!"

"You can't be expected to watch after the female students." Cronos rebuked.

"Cronos has a point." Samejima noted.

"Ah, well… I won't go into the girls' dorm then. Yubel can keep an eye on them until you find another new female teacher to hire." Judai decided.

"_Excuse me? Leave me out of this._" Yubel said in Judai's head.

"_A-actually, that sounds like a worse idea, nya_." Daitokuji stated.

"_Got a problem with me watching out for some bratty little girls? Don't think I can do it? I'll show you I can keep some kids in line. I watched over Judai more often than his own parents when he was little! I saved him from plenty of trouble!_" Yubel argued.

"_Eep!_" Daitokuji yelped in fear at Yubel's loudness.

"Even Yubel says they're willing to do it!" Judai added, trying not to look annoyed at the talking going on in his head.

Samejima and Cronos glanced at each other. Neither of them were sure that was a good idea, especially considering the stunt Yubel pulled a decade ago. But they were aware that Judai managed to get Yubel to calm down after the whole incident and that the spirit was ultimately pretty harmless now. They couldn't let the red dorms go unsupervised after all and there wasn't enough time to find two different teachers that could fill the roles of the previous ones before the semester started.

"I think for the time being we'll just have to settle for that. Passing up the opportunity to have you as a member of the faculty would be such a waste of talent after all." Samejima finally agreed.

Judai couldn't contain the smile that began to form on his face. Even compared to the excitement he would get over the reunions, Judai had never been more excited for anything else in his entire life. He finally had a real direction to follow in life. He wasn't moving along a track set for him in terms of having to go to school as a kid. He wasn't wandering aimlessly all over the world without a care for where he was headed next. He finally chose for himself where to lead his life and he was actually getting that. Judai was going to be the teacher that he sought to be.

Samejima had to call up the director, Saiou, since the final decision on who to hire or fire wasn't his alone. Saiou was happy to hear the news that Judai wanted to teach at Duel Academy. So happy in fact, that he wanted to come to Duel Academy personally to meet with Judai the next day. In the meantime, since no reunion was happening, Judai went around the school to catch up with the rest of the staff.

He first met with Ms. Tome at the school's card shop. She had plenty of fun stories to tell Judai about last year's new students. It seemed like every year something crazy had to happen. Although, he didn't really want to hear the details of Ms. Tome and Samejima's last date unfortunately. While there, Judai was surprised to see Seiko had returned, who was originally on maternity leave before deciding to take a break from work to raise her son. She had dozens of pictures to show Judai of the young boy, who was six and busy enjoying grade school. Informing the two of them that he would be a teacher at Duel Academy netted Judai a painfully tight hug from Ms. Tome and a congratulations from Seiko.

Judai then visited Ms. Ayukawa in the nurse's office. Like everyone else, she didn't look very different outside of obvious aging, but she was still considered the most beautiful teacher at the academy. When Judai told her he would be a teacher next semester, she went on a whole spiel about informing the kids to be safe at every chance he got, easy ways to recognize when someone might be injured, basic CPR knowledge, and what to do when someone was having a seizure. Judai couldn't keep up with all of it, but he tried to remember what he could anyway since it was important information.

Judai then headed outside and spoke to a few of the staff members he passed by on the way. He stopped at the yellow dorms first to visit Kabayama and the woman in charge of the girls' yellow dorm. Kabayama talked a bit about his grandkids that would be able to attend Duel Academy in two years and looked forward to the prospect of Judai teaching them. He even promised to make some of his special curry in celebration of Judai joining the staff. The girls' dorm leader spoke of her time as a former student at Duel Academy and shared some helpful tips with Judai on how not to feel like he was still a student.

After that, Judai made his way to the greenhouse. Every time he was there it still felt a tad uncomfortable to him despite the serene beauty of the plants in the garden. The old blue dorm once stood on the same land. The place where Fubuki and other students went missing, Judai and Asuka dueled Titan, and Judai defeated Daitokuji as Amnael, among other things. Perhaps the peacefulness of the plants only made the discomfort worse. It was like it was all a cover up to hide the misfortune that surrounded the building that once stood in the same spot. Even Daitokuji, who caused a decent amount of harm in that very building, felt uncomfortable to be there.

Moving on, Judai followed the path made to reach the observatory. Like with the garden, even the observatory felt strange to him. The old lab wasn't as terrible as the abandoned dorm was, but he still faced a decent amount of struggles there. His duel with Professor Satou, helping Johan rescue the Crystal Beasts from Giese Hunt, his duel with Professor Cobra, and the moment he realized they all weren't at Duel Academy anymore. Even though Judai wasn't scared of those memories and what he became during that time anymore, it still wasn't memories he liked to think back on. Even after everything that happened to him in the other dimension, Judai was still able to become his old self again. He learned how to enjoy dueling again. He looked forward to what he would see on his travels around the world. He made amazing memories doing so many things in places he'd never seen before. He even travelled through time twice and got to duel both with and against Yugi Muto of all people.

And yet…

After a decade he stopped caring. It dawned on Judai that over time he must have been slowly spiralling back into his old depression. Places and people started getting boring. He'd seen it all and none of it impressed him anymore. He stopped enjoying where the waves took him and began just dealing it. He didn't feel the same joy at seeing a beautiful sight like he used to. He didn't even really want to see the sights anymore. He just couldn't stop travelling since he didn't think he had anywhere to stay. He got tired of what became his daily routine. It ran out of enjoyment to give him.

Judai wondered if being a teacher would do the same thing. Would he grow tired of it and want to quit? He knew he didn't want that to happen. He had a real goal now. But even then, he had a goal when he graduated too. To travel. Now his goal was to teach kids. There wasn't an end to goals like that. It would end when he quit or when he died. Maybe that was Judai's problem. He picked goals that didn't have a set end. He couldn't complete it, only continue it. That way he ended up sucking as much out of it that he could before growing bored with it. He couldn't let that happen as a teacher. Teaching was a lot more rigid than travelling. He would have far less control of things as a teacher, so maybe that would help it not get boring like travelling did. Every year would bring new students unlike travelling where there was only so much he could see and do. He knew from his own time as a student that being a teacher would be hard, but maybe that was what Judai needed. He needed to be pushed a little. He was relaxing way too much for the past decade. It was time something came around to challenge him.

Judai realized he'd been at the observatory for far longer than he expected, so he turned around and headed back to the main school building. He returned to Samejima's office, who invited Judai to have lunch with him and Ms. Tome. They shared a nice meal that Ms. Tome cooked and chatted for a while. It reminded Judai a bit of the past few days he spent with his parents, except they were probably closer in age to being his grandparents. Samejima told Judai that they would talk more about being a teacher after Judai was officially hired. After all, Judai didn't have any proper knowledge on how to be a teacher. He knew some obvious basics and learned a bit from his conversations with the other staff members, but it still wasn't something Judai was officially qualified to do.

As night fell over the island, Judai was allowed to stay in the boys' red dorm since he would be living there once the semester started anyway. Judai was always happy to see the red dorm. No matter how much it changed it was still always the same old building to him. It had a third floor added and the wall against his old room was extended out further. The area Manjoume renovated once he moved in was further renovated a few times over the years to be more modern and accommodate more people. The mess hall was expanded and upgraded as well, allowing more people to fit inside and look a little nicer. They even got a bigger kitchen. Off to the side was the girls' dorm, which was only two floors and quite smaller. Judai felt it looked like the way the red dorm originally looked when he first came to Duel Academy. It made sense though, since there were always far less Osiris girls than boys.

Walking inside, Judai headed to the room that was once Daitokuji's. It was about the same size as the rest of the dorm rooms, but looked bigger since it was only for one person. There was a bed in the middle against the wall that looked like it could fit two people though. Unfortunately, Judai could already imagine the kind of things Yubel would say in relation to that. There was a dresser on one side of the room and a desk on the other. Other than that the room was empty. If there was anything more to the room then it was likely the last teacher took it when they left. Daitokuji appeared sitting on the desk and Yubel appeared laying down on the bed.

"I must say, they did a good job renovating this room, nya." Daitokuji noted.

"I've never actually seen this room before." Judai said as he walked over to the dresser.

"Oh trust me, it's much better than it used to be, nya." Daitokuji responded.

Judai crouched down and opened one of the dresser drawers. He put down his bag and pulled out his extra pair of clothes to put them in the drawer before closing it.

"Oh Judai, do you have any idea what this bed is the perfect size for?" Yubel asked, sounding a little too cheerful.

"Why did I know you would ask?" Judai muttered under his breath as he stood up. "Not now, Yubel."

"Hmph!" Yubel pouted and turned their head away.

"You can't do that on campus, nya." Daitokuji pointed out.

"Well obviously! And I don't need to be hearing that from you!" Judai shouted.

Daitokuji quickly put his hands up by his head. "Sorry, nya! Sorry."

Yubel just chuckled as Judai let himself fall onto the bed.

"I'm really here. I'm really doing this…" Judai spoke into the mattress.

"Are you beginning to regret this decision?" Yubel inquired.

Judai lifted his head up a bit. "Nah, it's just hard to believe how much has changed in the past few days."

"Are you ready for it? Teaching can be tough, nya. I know teenagers aren't the same as toddlers, but there's a whole other set of difficulties that come with each age group." Daitokuji said.

"Hm… I dunno. Obviously when I start it'll be weird, but I'm sure over time I'll get used to it. I just… need to keep at it… I guess." Judai responded, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself than them.

"Well if anyone gives you any trouble or makes things difficult for you then I'll deal with them." Yubel assured Judai.

"Please do not do that." Judai stated.

"So do you know what you want to teach, nya?" Daitokuji asked.

"Huh? Well, dueling obviously. What else would I teach?" Judai replied, sitting up on the bed.

Daitokuji looked tense for a moment before sighing. "Everyone is capable of teaching dueling. Everyone duels, it's a duel academy, nya. That's why everyone also teaches other subjects. Like Ayukawa-san is a gym coach and also the nurse, nya. And Kabayama-san teaches art and I taught alchemy."

Judai went wide eyed. "I… I-I-I… have to actually teach… a real subject…?"

"Oh boy. Now's the time to let us know if you remember math, Judai." Yubel commented.

"Remember!? I don't even think I knew it to begin with!" Judai exclaimed and tugged at his hair.

"Okay, that concerning note aside, nya, I could probably teach for you. Or, through you really." Daitokuji suggested.

"And how the hell would you do that?!" Judai loudly questioned.

"I may be dead, but I still know alchemy! You can recommend they bring alchemy class back and I can tell you everything you're supposed to say and do, nya. Like you're a puppet basically. Give it enough years and some practice outside the classroom and you'll be able to do it all by yourself without me, nya!" Daitokuji explained.

"I'm not opposed to that, but do I even want to learn and teach alchemy in the first place?" Judai rebutted.

"I must say, just having him tell you everything seems a lot easier than you trying to become an expert in any subject other than dueling." Yubel noted.

"I mean, you have a point. But wouldn't that feel like cheating?" Judai continued to argue.

"You want to teach dueling, Judai. You can do that no matter what here, nya. And with all you've learned during your travels I know there's more than just dueling you can teach the kids. So what's the harm in being a proxy for also teaching alchemy, nya?" Daitokuji clarified.

"Yeah, I suppose it wouldn't do any harm. It's just not what I planned on doing." Judai said.

"You didn't exactly plan on becoming a teacher until a few days ago, nya." Daitokuji stated.

"Okay, I get it!" Judai shouted. "I'll teach alchemy. Or… you'll teach alchemy… through me. This is gonna be weird."

"Well, it won't be the weirdest thing you've done." Yubel commented.

"By a long shot…" Judai added and let out a sigh.

With the conversation done, Yubel and Daitokuji faded away, leaving Judai alone in the room. The brunet sat up and moved to get under the blanket. He didn't actually do much for the day, but the plane rides made him tired anyway. He felt emotionally drained too. He went from being upset at his friends to facing a lot of nostalgia over going home and seeing Duel Academy again while also being a bit nervous about changing his path in life. He'd done so much thinking that it actually managed to take a lot out of him.

Judai wondered if he would start to miss his old lifestyle. He never felt like he had anything to worry about when he was just travelling and seeing the sights. He had no responsibilities to focus on. He was free. But perhaps being free was something that became tiring over time. Judai knew by now that he had grown tired of his old lifestyle. He was certain that he wanted to move on from that, so he shouldn't worry about it. He felt like he was doing too much worrying anyway. He was nervous after all. He wanted to be a good teacher, but there were too many things that could go wrong. The kids could hate him, he could mess up on grading, he could get tired of teaching, or he end up bringing more trouble to the school. He already never stopped feeling like everything that happened while he was a student was his fault. Maybe being back at the academy for an extended period of time would cause more issues. Was he a magnet for trouble? He did end up running into lots of strange events on his travels to the point that he felt like trouble always followed him around.

Judai roughly shook his hands through his hair. He couldn't worry about all that. He had to stop letting his mind wander through all his concerns. He just had to take things one day at a time and deal with issues as they appeared rather than worrying all the time. It would end up driving him insane otherwise.

To distract himself, Judai pulled out his phone. He had more messages. This time it was dozens from Manjoume and a single missed call from Ryo. Judai wasn't sure if he ever felt like he'd want to talk to them. He needed to explain things so they would stop worrying about him, but the longer he waited the more he didn't want to say anything. He still wasn't mad or upset at anyone, he just didn't seem to have the words. Did he even want to have the words? Judai wasn't really sure. He felt bad about leaving his friends in the dark on his situation, but for the time being he also felt better without speaking to them again. Perhaps he was still associating them with the disappointment of not being able to have the reunion. At the least he wanted to get over that fully before he could have the willpower to talk to anyone.

Not wanting to think about anything anymore, Judai put his phone down beside him. He had to clear his mind and go to sleep. He would feel better tomorrow when he officially became a teacher. He was sure of it.

Morning eventually came and Saiou arrived by helicopter at Duel Academy. He immediately went to Samejima's office and the two discussed business for a bit while waiting for Judai. Samejima spoke of some promising students that would be attending the academy next semester and Saiou assured that he would look into finding another teacher for the girls' red dorm. Judai soon came bursting into the office and frantically apologizing about being late. Saiou and Samejima both simply chuckled at him and Saiou swore there was no need for Judai to worry.

Saiou held a hand out to Judai, but the brunet hugged him instead. The two hadn't seen each other in a decade so Judai was just excited about their reunion. Saiou didn't look too different actually. He wore a black suit and his hair was cut so it only reached his chin though. Judai tried not to laugh when Saiou explained he had it cut to avoid it getting caught on fire in his kitchen again. He went on to talk about how Mizuchi was doing. She lived on her own and had a small business selling talismans that she made. Saiou mentioned that he hadn't seen Edo in awhile since the new King of Games was so busy lately. Both Saiou and Judai worried if maybe Edo was working a bit too much. Or maybe a lot too much. He never seemed to have time to answer his phone and was always either at an event, doing an interview, or shooting for a commercial. They had to wonder when Edo took the time to sleep. Judai even recalled that Edo was on his phone for the vast majority of last year's reunion. Every year things seemed to get more busy for him. They hoped Edo could find the time to take a break or even go on a vacation. He definitely deserved it after all.

Getting down to what Saiou came to the academy for, he questioned why Judai decided now on becoming a teacher. The brunet stumbled around his explanation, not wanting it to sound like a sob story, but also not wanting to come off as cryptic. Either way, Judai got the feeling Saiou could tell what the truth was anyway.

Samejima brought up the issue of Judai not having a teaching degree. Saiou did agree that was a point of concern, but Judai swore he could learn. There was still a couple weeks until the new semester started and Judai really did want to put in the effort to get things right. Saiou and Samejima talked over their options as Judai just stood there and listened without much more he could do to convince them.

They were in desperate need of new teachers for the red dorm and it was on such short notice. Judai had experience at the academy, even if it was only as a student, and he did go down in academy history as the best duelist to ever come out of the school. Plenty of students every year knew his name and the number never seemed to go down as the years passed. It was like Judai was an integral part of the academy despite not being there. He was earnest about wanting to teach too. It really was like the perfect choice just fell into their laps. Without a teaching degree, hiring Judai wasn't exactly the most legal thing to do, but even Judai knew Duel Academy didn't always follow the law.

They came to an agreement that Judai could teach as long as he spent all the remaining time before the next semester to learn the ropes. Judai promised he wouldn't waste a single second… and then dropped the ball that he wanted to teach alchemy. It earned him quite the surprised stares from Saiou and Samejima. Alchemy was dropped from the curriculum after Daitokuji 'went missing' since he was the only one that taught it. Judai partially explained, and partially lied, that he wanted to teach alchemy to honor Daitokuji's memory and had learned enough about it over the years to be confident that he could teach it. Saiou and Samejima trusted him and therefore agreed to bring back alchemy as a class for Judai to teach.

There was still some paperwork that had to be done to finalize everything, but Samejima could do that himself and send it to Saiou later so the conversation was considered over. Saiou had a meeting scheduled at noon so he couldn't stay long anyway. Judai offered to walk with Saiou to the port, which he happily accepted. They reminisced a bit on old times while they walked. Judai considered it a good thing that Saiou was able to laugh at his old actions. They may have been dangerous actions, but in the end everything worked out so it was all behind them. Saiou shouldn't try to hold any of it against himself and Judai viewed Saiou as a friend now anyway. Saiou still felt the need to issue one last apology though, to which Judai frantically assured him there was no need to do that. Judai was the one that felt like he was to blame instead. If Judai never came to Duel Academy to begin with, there was so much trouble that could have been avoided for everyone.

The two reached the helicopter at the port and Judai stood by as Saiou climbed in. He stopped for a moment to turn and look at Judai.

"You're going to do fine here, Judai. I know it." Saiou said.

Judai's eyes widened a bit as the helicopter door closed. He backed up as it began taking off and he watched it fly away until it was out of his sight.

Saiou said Judai would do fine. He may not have had his powers anymore so it wasn't like that was an indisputable fact, but Judai trusted it regardless. He would do fine. He had to believe that. He would be a great teacher and the kids would love him and life at Duel Academy would be peaceful forever. He had nothing to worry about… right?

The next day Judai got started on learning how to teach. The job ended up being shafted onto Cronos, who started by taking Judai into one of the classrooms. He went through the basics for the first day, which was a lot more than Judai expected. It took him awhile to understand the grading system since math wasn't his forte. He needed a refresher on the academy rules as well, not like he took much note of them back when he was a student to begin with. Cronos dusted off the old alchemy textbooks and got Kabayama to help him explain to Judai every main point that the students needed to learn for the class in order to pass. That kind of went over Judai's head, but thankfully Daitokuji remembered exactly how to teach the subject so it wasn't like he had to worry much about that.

Getting closer to the start of the new semester, Judai joined in on the staff meetings and everyone pitched in their own advice to help him get the hang of things. Each night he made sure read a bit of the alchemy textbook and get extra help from Daitokuji so teaching the subject wouldn't be as hard as it could be at first. He finally got his class roster from Samejima and glanced over it a bit, but felt it was more appropriate to learn about the students from themselves rather than pieces of paper with not much else except statistics.

Returning to the red dorm the night before the semester started, Judai found a present waiting on his bed. He picked up the envelope sitting on top and opened it so he could read it.

'_You shouldn't be wearing your old uniform so long after graduating, so we hope you enjoy this new one so you can feel like a real teacher._'

It was signed from Ms. Tome and Seiko. Judai couldn't help but smile as he opened the present. Yubel, Daitokuji, and Winged Kuriboh watched as Judai picked up a red coat the same shade as Samejima's. He took off his old uniform jacket and put on the new one. The shoulders were a bit poofy and the collar went higher up than his old jacket. The cuffs of the sleeves were a bit tight around his wrists but he could always ask to get that adjusted. The back of the coat extended down to his feet. He pulled it up just to get a look at it before turning to the three watching him.

"You definitely look like a teacher now, nya." Daitokuji commented.

"And a very dashing one at that." Yubel added.

"Kuri kuri!" Winged Kuriboh agreed.

"Thanks guys." Judai responded with a smile.

Things were finally starting to feel real to Judai. He was actually a teacher now. In the morning he would meet his first students and start his first class. He couldn't let himself start worrying again so he tried not to think about it. He just had to remember everything he learned and do the best that he could.

Judai took off the coat so he wouldn't mess it up and got ready for bed. He needed to be well rested for tomorrow after all. Winged Kuriboh sat next to Judai's head and slept beside him to keep him company, knowing how big of a day tomorrow was for Judai.

And eventually Judai found himself wide awake and walking down the hall to his classroom. The sun shone bright out the windows in the empty hallway, which didn't help Judai much since he felt like he didn't get any sleep at all last night. He was minutes, perhaps even seconds, away from officially starting his first real job. It almost seemed like everything he learned slipped right out of his head now that he really needed it. He stopped in front of the classroom door and could see through the small window that Samejima was still talking to the class. Samejima was supposed to give a speech to the new class like he did every year and that would be when he introduced Judai as a new teacher.

"And now with that out of the way, I would like to make a special announcement." Samejima began.

Most of the students didn't seem interested in Samejima's speech. They were either tired thanks to jet lag or more interested in dueling than anything else.

"We have a special person joining us this year as a teacher. I'm sure most, if not all of you, know who they are." Samejima continued.

That created murmuring among the students. They discussed who it could be and threw out any name under the sun that they could think of. A blonde girl on the left side of the classroom glanced between the two boys beside her, one with pink hair and one with dark blue hair. All three of them wore customized Obelisk Blue uniforms.

"Well I'm positive it's the Cyber Queen. Who else could be so talented that they become a teacher at the most prestigious Duel Academy?" The girl decided.

"But what about every other teacher here?" The dark blue haired boy casually wondered.

The girl elbowed him, making him wince and rub his sore arm.

"Ah, I don't care who it is. Long as they're cool an' lemme sleep in class." The pink haired boy said with a lazy smile plastered on his face.

In the middle of the classroom, a dark red haired girl in a Ra Yellow uniform couldn't help but giggle uncontrollably. The silver haired girl in an Osiris Red uniform next to her nervously glanced at her with slight concern.

"Omigosh! What if it's Fubuki Tenjoin!? Ahhh! I hope it's the Blizzard Prince! Hey! Who do you think it is!?" She excitedly shouted at the girl next to her.

The silver haired girl tensed up and let out a quiet yelp. She put a hand over her chest and her light green eyes dropped down to the table. She knew who she hoped it was, but she didn't believe it could be possible. It wasn't like her dream could unexpectedly come true just like that. Still, it would be nice if she could get taught by her idol. The thought made a tiny smile form on her face.

"Without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to your new teacher, Judai Yuki-kun." Samejima announced and motioned at the door for Judai to come in.

The whole class practically gasped. Almost all of them knew who he was and absolutely no one expected it to really be him. The door opened and Judai walked in, making the class feel like they were in the presence of a celebrity. He stopped next to Samejima and stood before his new students. They couldn't tell, but Judai's heart was racing, and so was the silver haired girl's.

It was him. It was really him. It was her idol. She never thought for a single second that it would actually be him and now there he was, right in front of her. She would get to learn so much from him. Her dream really did come true. She almost felt like her hands were shaking. It was him, but what if he didn't think she was a good duelist? What if he thought she was weak? What if he wasn't like how she thought he was?

"Aw, who's this guy? I wanted Fubuking!" The dark red haired girl whined.

The silver haired girl looked at her. She wanted to say something, but her nerves got the better of her.

"Are you kidding me!? It should be the Cyber Queen! She deserves to be here! No one is better than her! But _no_! We get- we get- get-"

"Judai Yuki?" The dark blue haired boy finished for the blonde girl.

"Gaaahh!" She screeched and dropped her head down to the table, banging a fist down on it.

"Ehehehe… well at least he looks friendly." The pink haired boy commented, making the blonde girl groan.

Judai himself didn't know how to react. He had so many eyes on him and he wasn't used to that. He'd gone ten years wandering around the world with most people not paying much attention to him. Apparently he really did become a recluse in a way. He knew he never used to be like that, but after so long he grew accustomed to practically being invisible to the world. And with all his other worries bubbling to the surface now, he started feeling overwhelmed.

"Well, don't you want to say something, Judai-kun?" Samejima asked.

"Huh? U-uh, right. Um well, welcome to Duel Academy everyone! I'm Judai Yuki. I guess most of you already know my name, but I went here when I was your age. Duel Academy…" Judai paused for a moment to find the right words. "Duel Academy means the world to me. This place is my home. I've been through a lot here, for better or worse, and it's changed me in certain ways. I've learned, and grown, and laughed and cried here with the closest friends I've ever had. I struggled a lot, but I always managed to pull through. And I was never alone here… even when I thought I was. So I hope all of you can realize you have each other to rely on. None of you are alone. All of you have each other, and you have me. So I want the first thing all of you to learn is how to make friends with one another. That'll be your greatest asset here 'cause even when you think you're stuck and there's nothing you can do and everything is hopeless, I want you to know your friends will be there for you. Your bonds with each other will grow strong enough that nothing can break them. They'll hang on strong through all your struggles. Through the petty arguments, through the duels you think you'll never win, through the crazy curve balls life will throw at you, and even through time. So once you have them, never let those bonds go. After all, you'll never know how much they truly meant to you until they're gone."

As his final words escaped his lips, Judai realized exactly what he was saying. He missed his friends. He missed the memories he made at Duel Academy. Through all the pain, he had a million happy moments he treasured on the island. And he wanted it all back. He never wanted those days to end, so he wanted to make sure his students would treasure their days at the academy just as much as he did. Taking everything he learned at their age, he wanted them to be sure they wouldn't take their time for granted. He wanted them to be as important to each other as Judai's friends were to him.

And that sentiment reached his students. Many of them looked at each other, the ones that knew each other from junior high knowing they would remain as close as ever. Some of them that didn't know anyone around them made eye contact with their neighbors and felt that was the first step towards a new friendship. Between the five students that stood out among the rest, the red haired girl happily turned to the silver haired girl with a big smile, but it fell from her face when she noticed the silver haired girl's green eyes were trained on Judai instead. As for the three Obelisk students, the pink haired boy flashed a half smile at the two beside him. The blonde girl looked at him for a moment before scoffing and turning away. Despite having shared history with them, the blue haired blue didn't bother to even glance at the other two. Those weren't bonds he wanted to keep anyway.

Continuing the introduction for Judai, Samejima cleared his throat before speaking. "I didn't expect you to come prepared with a speech, Judai-kun. I agree though. None of you are learning alone, you're all learning together. It's important you reach out when you can and help each other. Together, here, you're all a community and I hope you all care about and protect one another like a community should. So Judai-kun will be teaching you all alchemy, a class we're bringing back after over a decade. He'll also be in charge of the boys' Osiris Red dorm. We're still missing a teacher to watch the girls' half, but we've… ah, we've taken measures for that to be partially taken care of until we can find someone else. So I'll let you all be and Judai-kun can start the first day of class."

"Do you still have to call me Judai-kun?" Judai questioned, sounding disappointed.

"Ah, sorry. Force of habit… Yuki-sensei." Samejima corrected himself.

Judai shuttered in disgust. "Ugh, just stick with Judai-kun."

Samejima chuckled and roughly pat Judai on the back as he began to leave the classroom.

Things were silent for a moment as Judai stared at the door, then back at his students. They were quiet for the most part as they waited on him to begin since he was the teacher. He wasn't sure what to do though. How was he supposed to transition from the introduction into actually teaching? Cronos didn't exactly explain that part to him. Judai then remembered he didn't actually know who his students were. Sure, they were all in front of him, but he didn't really go over the roster he was given. That's right, he wanted to know about his students but not through just statistics. Daitokuji was about to appear to help him, but Judai stood up straight and let out a sigh, meaning he was ready to do things himself.

"Like I said, I'm Judai Yuki. You can just call me Judai-sensei, no need for anything more formal than that. So before we get down to actually learning anything, I'd love to know each of you personally. I know it can make some people nervous, so sorry about that, but why don't we go in order and have everyone introduce themselves. You just have to tell me your name and what deck you prefer using most and anything else you might want me to know. I'll go first to make it easier and then we'll start from the left. Ah-hem, for the third time now, I'm Judai Yuki. I use Elemental Heroes and Neo-Spacians. I love fried shrimp and I'm pretty good at drawing." He then motioned for the boy sitting all the way to the left on the front row to stand up.

The boy was a bit nervous since he was first, technically second, but stood up and got through it just fine. Then the girl next to him stood and introduced herself. They continued on down the row and then the first to the left on the second row stood up to speak. Once the first boy on the third row stood up, the silver haired girl started shaking again. She would have to stand up and speak not only in front of her new classmates, but also in front of her idol for the first time.

Finally the pink haired boy stood up since he was next. He was of average height, but perhaps a case could be made that he was a bit on the shorter side. His hair was very short, but it got longer in the back as it curved around his head and it just barely touched his shoulder on his right side. His bangs were straight and swept to the left a bit. His red eyes looked rather tired, but they also had a friendly feel to them. He still had a lazy smile stuck on his ivory face too. His uniform was white with the normal Obelisk shade of blue on the trim. It was left unbuttoned, revealing his black turtleneck. His sleeves were a bit loose and the cuffs were a tad over sized and blue as well. The coattails were long and curled slightly so it was reminiscent of a very fancy butler uniform. He wore simple white jeans with his hands tucked into the pockets and the uniform standard blue shoes.

"I'm Hikaru Arakawa. I guess I use Fur Hires mostly an' I like sleepin'. That's about it." Hikaru introduced himself and rubbed the back of his neck before sitting down.

He definitely talked rather casually and a bit slow too. Judai could tell he wouldn't be getting much effort out of Hikaru.

The blonde girl next to him scoffed again as she stood up to take her turn. She was of average height for a girl, but that might have been an illusion thanks to her blue knee high heels. Her blonde hair was long, but it was partially put into a bun on the right side of her head with the remainder hanging down as a ponytail that reached her waist. The hair framing her face stopped just above her chest and curled into loose ringlets. There was a bit of hair that laid flat against the pale skin between her purple eyes and she wore a black headband. She wore a black turtleneck just like Hikaru, but no one could tell if it was short-sleeved or sleeveless. Over that was a closed white uniform jacket that only covered half her torso. The sleeves were frilly and poofy around her shoulders and the blue cuffs were tight around her upper arms. Her white skirt also poofed out and had a blue trim where it stopped midway down her thighs. The skin between her skirt and shoes was covered by white tights. She wore one golden bracelet on her left wrist.

"I am Sabrina Himeno, heir to the Himeno family fortune and newest elite member of Duel Academy's most graceful Obelisk Blue ladies. I use the ever glorious Ice Barrier archetype and am already an expert at the newly introduced Synchro summoning method." Sabrina suddenly pointed a finger at Judai, surprising the brunet. "And _you_ are in no way capable of being a teacher adequate enough for me to learn from! I only wish to be a student of the beautiful, magnificent, angelic Cyber Qu-"

"Alright, Rina sit down. Ya've said enough." Hikaru abruptly cut her off and tugged on her jacket.

She tensed up and glared at him before quickly sitting down and crossing her arms and legs. An irritated look was stuck on her face, but since she listened to Hikaru, Judai assumed the two were friends even if it was obvious Sabrina was the type to never admit that. Her speech was very formal, but definitely still rude and condescending. She spoke rather quickly too, making her seem like quite the opposite of Hikaru.

While the room was filled with awkward silence, the boy on the other side of Sabrina stood up to introduce himself next. He was certainly tall and he stood up perfectly straight. His dark blue hair was long, but it was hard to tell exactly how long since it was so curly. Most of it was pulled back into a low ponytail that fluffed out in every direction. A shorter portion was left loose and curled over his left eye, almost covering it completely. His eyes were a deep blue and a bit lighter than his hair. His skin was a sienna tone and he had a slightly wide nose, unlike his two companions, as well as thick eyebrows. His uniform jacket was primarily blue with white trim and was properly buttoned up. It looked fairly standard issue other than the fact that the sides continued down to his ankles and looked like curtains. He wore black pants with the cuffs rolled up just a bit and blue uniform shoes.

"My name is Hajime Kinozaki and I use a Chemicritter deck." Without another word Kinozaki sat back down.

His curtiness gave Judai the impression that he was the quiet type and possibly a loner as well. Still, he was soft spoken and polite, so he must have been a nice boy regardless.

The next student in the middle section stood up to introduce himself and the silver haired girl continued to grow nervous. It moved on to the next one, leaving just one student before she had to stand. Her heart practically stopped when the boy beside her stood up and every second of his introduction seemed to last forever. He finally sat down and she felt like every pair of eyes in the world was staring at her, but in reality all it was just Judai giving her a slightly concerned look. The red haired girl next to her looked a bit confused as well.

With wobbly legs, she finally stood up, revealing she was a short girl. Her silver hair was wavy and short in the back, with the hair framing her face reaching down past her shoulders. Her bangs were pushed to the right side of her face and curved around her eye. Her eyes were light green and focused on the table in front of her. Most of her peach skin was covered by her clothes, which consisted of what looked like the standard boy's Osiris Red jacket buttoned up and baggy black capris with a white belt that had a metal buckle in the shape of a flower. Her sleeves were definitely too long and almost covered her hands. She also wore the standard boy's shoes, but they were obviously sized properly for her small feet. She opened her mouth to speak, but she struggled trying to get a single word out.

"M-m-my… I-I am…" She barely muttered.

"My name is. My. Name. Is." The girl next to her whispered.

She glanced at the red haired girl who smiled and gave her a thumbs up. She let out a sigh and started over.

"My… M-my name is… Hana M-Mitarashi. I-I use an A-Aroma deck." Hana stuttered.

She had more she wanted to say, but all she could do was drop back down into her seat. Judai was proud of Hana anyway though, since it was obvious even just saying her name in front of the class was a tough hurdle to jump over. However, Sabrina couldn't help but glare at her.

Next to Hana, the red haired girl practically bounced out of her seat with a big grin. She was even shorter than Hana and had the same ivory skin tone as Hikaru. Her dark red hair was slightly longer than Hana's despite not looking like it since the back end frayed out in every direction. Her bangs parted down the middle and poked up a bit before going back down and framing her cheeks. She had a big chunk of hair that poked up on top of her head and curved forward slightly. Her eyes were a pale shade of magenta. Her yellow uniform jacket was sleeveless and extended down a bit past her hips. She wore a black long-sleeved t-shirt with a wide collar and the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She also wore black wristbands on both her wrists. She had on yellow shorts and uniform standard yellow shoes with black kneesocks.

"The name's Kiki Arakawa and I use a Fabled deck! I'm a hundred fifty-three centimeters and my blood type is O! My birthday is February third and I graduated junior high with straight A's!" Kiki announced.

Happy with herself, she sat back down and she and Hana looked at each other. Both Hana and Judai realized she was clearly one of those cutesy types of girls and apparently pretty smart too. None of that had to do with why Sabrina seemed even more angry though. Remembering Hikaru's last name, Hana glanced over at the pink haired boy and wondered if Kiki and Hikaru were related. They looked slightly alike, but not really like siblings. Perhaps they were cousins instead.

"Hey, you did awesome Han-chan!" Kiki quietly cheered as the boy on her other side stood up to introduce himself.

Looking back at Kiki, Hana's eyes widened. Kiki was talking to her, complimenting her, and even giving her a nickname. She couldn't help but feel herself shaking again to the point that she couldn't say anything back to Kiki.

Without another word, the rest of the class introduced themselves and Judai felt like he got a good idea of who everyone was. Some names he was positive he would have trouble remembering though. He was glad to have most of the attention off of himself too, but now he had to figure out what else to do. Alchemy was a strange subject and he doubted anyone had any real knowledge of it yet so it would be best to ease them into it. After all, Judai knew he hated it when he was thrown into a topic that he knew little to nothing about.

"Alright so, anyone happen to already know something about alchemy?" Judai asked the class.

A few students hesitantly began to hold their hands up, but Kiki quickly shot her's up in the air and waved it around, startling Hana.

"Ooh, ooh! Kiki knows! Kiki knows! Ask Kiki!" She shouted.

"A-alright… Kiki, what do you know about alchemy?" Judai questioned.

"Alchemy's a form of philosophy that was practiced in Europe, Africa, and Asia and originated in Greco-Roman Egypt!" Kiki proudly giggled at herself and swayed side to side.

Everyone around her just stared at her in surprise, as did Sabrina and Kinozaki.

"Your sister is weird." Sabrina stated.

"Yeah, but that's one of her charm points." Hikaru replied.

_"She's right, Judai-kun, nya."_ Daitokuji said in Judai's head.

"G-great… looks like I really am a weirdness magnet." Judai mumbled under his breath. "That's… exactly right, Kiki. Have you studied alchemy before?"

"Nope! Kiki really likes philosophy so I ended up looking into alchemy a bit! I don't actually know all that much about it compared to other forms of philosophy!" Kiki cheerfully responded.

_"I think I found my favorite for this year, nya!"_ Daitokuji happily said.

_"Well, it was nice knowing that girl while she lasted."_ Yubel commented.

_"Oh don't assume she'll end up like Judai-kun. O-or that it would be my fault, nya!" _Daitokuji protested.

Judai forgot he would have to hear from the peanut gallery even while teaching. He sighed and went on to give a bit more background on alchemy than just what Kiki said. Once Judai ran out of information, Daitokuji piped in to tell him what to say. He didn't want to go over too much since it was only the first day of the semester and things were just getting started. He just wanted his students to know a bit about where alchemy came from before anything else.

Hikaru tried to relax and block out all the talking so he could take a nap. Sabrina impatiently tapped her foot while she stewed in her own anger so badly that she didn't care what Judai was saying. Kinozaki simply listened and tried to actually learn something unlike the other two. Hana listened even more intently than him, making sure she caught every single word Judai said. Kiki on the other hand, just continued swaying and seemed completely spaced out.

Thankfully the end of class eventually came and Judai felt relieved. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up with what Daitokuji was saying, especially with most of the class focused on him. He stumbled over his words quite a few times, but fortunately no one really seemed to care. He said his goodbyes to the class and a few of them looked upset to see him go, Hana included. He was kind of famous on campus after all. The class spent the few minutes they had until their next teacher showed up to talk amongst each other. It wasn't very loud though, since not many of them knew anyone else yet.

"Hey!" Kiki suddenly called out, making Hana jump. "Are you the shy type?"

"Eh!? U-um.. yes…" Hana muttered.

"Aw, well don't worry! Kiki'll be your friend! In fact, Kiki's already your friend! Kiki and Han-chan are friends now!" Kiki decided.

Hana just stared at Kiki. "A-aren't you… Kiki, Arakawa-san?"

"Not Arakawa-san! Kiki! Or better yet, Kiki-chan! Call me Kiki-chan! Oh…" Kiki rubbed the back of her head out of embarrassment. "Heheh, you mean- right, right. I _am_ Kiki, but I'm trying out a new thing since this is a new school. It's cute, right?"

"Um… well, I know it's supposed to be, but I couldn't possibly call you K-Kiki-chan…" Hana responded.

"Nope! Han-chan has to now! We're friends after all, and friends give each other nicknames!" Kiki declared.

Hana's eyes widened just a bit. Kiki didn't even know Hana and yet she already made Hana her friend. That wasn't exactly how Hana expected to make her first real friend, but she supposed there couldn't be any easier way to go about it.

"O-okay… H-Han-chan and Kiki-chan are… f-friends now." Hana struggled to say.

"Awesome! Oh man, now I wish we were in the same dorm together! Ya think I can switch to Osiris? It's only the first day, I bet it wouldn't be _that_ big of a deal to ask for a dorm change!" Kiki rambled.

Hana just smiled and listened to Kiki go on and on about nonsense she didn't really understand.

Further down the row, Sabrina slammed a hand down on the table, startling Hikaru awake.

"Relax. What are you so upset about anyway." Kinozaki questioned.

"_Kinozakiii! _You clearly don't get it!" Sabrina shouted. "I had the chance to go to East Academy! My mother _wanted_ me to go to East Academy! She said it was so much better there! But Central Duel Academy is where the Cyber Queen attended! The greatest, most beautiful, most glorious-"

"We get it, you idolize Asuka Tenjoin." Kinozaki interrupted her, making Hikaru chuckle behind her.

"Ugh, you two are _insufferable!_ Listen! I got my hopes up that the amazing Cyber Queen would be our new teacher, but no! It's some no name homeless looking _dude_! And not only that, I'm not the only one using Synchro summoning! I _should_ be the only one! Me! Sabrina Himeno!" She exclaimed and pointed at herself.

"Ya know, Synchro summoning's been out to the public for like, two years now. You're not special anymore just 'cause your daddy's got ties to Industrial Illusions." Hikaru lazily noted.

"And that homeless… dude… is Judai Yuki. He's considered the greatest duelist in Duel Academy history. You should realize how much of a privilege it is to be taught by him." Kinozaki added.

Sabrina grabbed both boys by the front of their jackets and yanked them close to her, but neither of them appeared very fazed by it.

"The greatest duelist in dueling history is Asuka Tenjoin, the Cyber Queen! You hear me!? I don't care who Jubei Yuka is and if I hear about it one more time I'm going to call my daddy and he'll buy the whole school just to have it demolished for a mall!" Sabrina threatened.

"It's Judai Yuki." Kinozaki corrected her.

She let out an over the top groan and shoved them both away to drop her head onto the table. Hikaru fell out of his seat and laughed, scaring the other boy next to him. Kinozaki just sighed.

"Sounds like the princess is having a temper tantruuum~" Hikaru teased as he got back into his seat.

Sabrina shoved a hand out and pushed Hikaru back, making him fall out of his seat again.

"Why did I decide to sit with you guys…?" Kinozaki muttered, mainly to himself.

He looked over at the rest of the class and spotted Hana and Kiki talking to each other. He could see Kiki suddenly grab both of Hana's hands and the Osiris Red girl visibly flinched. He turned back to the other two to see Sabrina still sitting there with her head down and now gripping at her hair while Hikaru had to be helped up by the boy beside him. Kinozaki rested his chin in his hand and let out another sigh, wishing for the school day to hurry up and end.

And after what felt like forever, it finally did. Everyone poured out of the classroom, but most of them stuck around in the hallway to decide what to do now that they properly had full reign of the island. Not even getting a moment to herself outside the classroom, Hana was attacked by Kiki grabbing ahold of her arm.

"K-K-Kiki-chan! Let go!" Hana whined.

"But we should hang out, Han-chan! What do ya wanna do? Should we go to the yellow dorm? I hear it's nicer than the red dorm! Oh, but you're shy so I guess you would prefer the red dorm, huh? Or maybe we could just explore the-"

"Kiki-chan, p-please stop." Hana interrupted Kiki, who just closed her mouth and stared at Hana. "I want to find Yuki-sensei."

"Ya mean Judai-sensei? Mmm… I bet he could be anywhere!" Kiki noticed Hikaru, Sabrina, and Kinozaki walk by. "Hey! Aniki and friends, hold up!"

Hana turned around and the three Obelisk students stopped in their tracks. Kiki ran up to them, dragging Hana along with her. The Osiris girl couldn't help but feel nervous over Sabrina glaring at her.

"Hey, Aneki! Made a new friend?" Hikaru greeted his sister.

"Yep! This is Han-chan! She's looking for Judai-sensei! Do you guys have any idea where he might be?" Kiki responded.

"Don't know, don't care." Sabrina bluntly stated before suddenly walking off.

"O-oh! N-no, no! You all don't have to help. Really!" Hana protested.

"Don't fight it, Han-chan! Kiki and the gang'll round him up for you!" Kiki declared.

"Ehehe, I hope Kiki isn't causin' ya too much trouble. Once she has an idea it's hard to stop her from goin' through with it." Hikaru said.

Hana tensed up and shook her head, unable to bring herself to use words.

"Oh hey! Kiki wants to check the cafeteria! Kiki's gonna check the cafeteria! Wait, is there a cafeteria…? Kiki's gonna find out if there's a cafeteria!" Kiki shouted.

"Cafeteria? Wouldn't that mean food? Heh, count Aniki in then." Hikaru decided.

The siblings smirked at each other and Kiki sprinted off while Hikaru walked away at a much slower pace, leaving Hana and Kinozaki by themselves in the hall.

"He was right, nothing can stop her. And apparently not him when he actually cares either." Kinozaki commented.

Hana looked up at Kinozaki, who finally glanced down at her, and she quickly looked away.

"Mitarashi-san, was it?" He questioned.

"Ah! Um, y-you can just call me Hana." She responded.

Kinozaki stared at her for a moment. "Okay, Hana_-chan_."

Hana tensed up and blushed a bit. "Y-you're… K-Kinozaki-kun, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, that's me. So, you were looking for Judai-sensei?"

It was Hana's turn to nod.

"I guess you need some help with that then, huh?" Hana looked at Kinozaki with slight surprise in her eyes. "He's likely still in the school. I'd like to talk to him too, so why don't I check the lower floors and you check the upper floors? Whoever finds him first gets to talk with him."

"Ah, o-okay." Hana agreed.

She was grateful he wanted to help, but she didn't want to bother him though. Still, Kinozaki did say he wanted to talk to Judai too so it wasn't like she was shafting half the work onto him while he got nothing in return.

With a small smile flashed at Hana, Kinozaki walked away to begin his search and Hana hesitated for a moment before going in the opposite direction. She glanced into classrooms and checked out the window every once in awhile. She passed by a few teachers too and felt like asking them if they knew where Judai was, but she couldn't work up the nerve to do so. She eventually hit the end of the road, a door that led to the roof, and stopped before deciding to turn around.

"Why not check the roof? You never know if he might be up there."

Hana looked over her shoulder to see Aromaseraphy Angelica floating behind her.

"What reason could he have to be on the roof though?" Hana questioned.

"You don't know! That's why you should check!" Angelica repeated.

Hana sighed and walked past the small spirit to push open the door to the roof. She could just take a quick peek to be sure Judai wasn't there and then try to find Kinozaki to see if he found Judai instead. Walking up the stairs, she could feel the breeze from outside. As she got further up she could even see the sunlight. She finally got high enough for her head to poke out of the stairway and she could see onto the roof. She looked over to the side and suddenly froze before backing up a couple steps. Judai was laying down on the roof with his arms crossed behind the back of his head. Floating next to him was a human sized spirit with large wings. Hana put a hand over her mouth while Angelica appeared behind her shoulder.

"How much longer are you going to lay there, Judai?" Yubel questioned.

"Can't I just relax? I've had a long day. I wore myself out just from being worried." Judai responded.

"What could you possibly have been worried about?" Yubel asked.

"Well, turns out there was no real reason for me to worry, but… I dunno, I was just paranoid I'd mess up or they'd all hate me or… whatever. I haven't had that many people staring at me in years anyway. It was kinda nerve wracking." Judai explained.

"You've always been outgoing." Yubel noted.

"Yeah, but… nowadays for the most part I only ever talk to you, Daitokuji-sensei, or some of the Elemental Heroes and Neo-Spacians. And being on the phone every once in awhile with the others isn't really the same thing." Judai sat up. "I think I became a hermit."

The brunet let out a sigh and stared out at the sky. He really was relieved that his worries didn't turn out to be true. He almost felt silly for worrying at all. But it made Judai realize that he was in desperate need to rejoin society. Thankfully Duel Academy was like its own much smaller society, and one that he was most at home in as well.

Hana felt rude for eavesdropping on Judai, but she couldn't muster up the courage to say anything, especially now that she heard him say something he probably only wanted himself and the spirit with him to hear. She turned around to start walking away, but came face-to-face with a Winged Kuriboh. It startled her so badly that she screeched and turned to run away, but tripped on the stairs and fell down on the roof. Judai flinched at the sound and jolted up, completely confused at the sight behind him.

"Kuri?" Winged Kuriboh chirped.

"Wow, way to go furball! How dare you scare a defenseless little lady like that!" Angelica scolded.

Judai ran over to Hana just as she started getting up and Yubel followed behind him.

"Hey, you okay?" Judai asked her.

Hana looked over to see Judai and yelped. She scrambled to her feet and backed away.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stop it or you're gonna fall down the stairs!" Judai warned her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

Hana went wide eyed and her face turned red before she let out an ear piercing scream that made Judai flinch. Winged Kuriboh whined and Angelica covered her ears while Yubel just groaned in annoyance.

"Maybe stop touching her?" Yubel suggested, sounding irritated.

"Oh crap, right!" Judai immediately took his hands off Hana's shoulders and held them up by head.

She stopped screaming and dropped down to her knees then sat down. She put her hands over her face and let out a sigh.

"I'm so sorry! I wanted to talk to you but I couldn't find you and I looked everywhere but the only place left was the roof and I didn't expect you to be up here but you were so I freaked out and I heard you talking and I know that's rude but I didn't know what else to do and I was gonna leave but there was a Kuriboh it scared me and-"

"Okay, calm down!" Judai interrupted her muffled shouting, not even entirely sure what she was saying.

"Kuriboh!" She exclaimed as she pulled her hands from her face.

"Alright, alright! Just- everything's fine now! Just breathe! Please!" Judai said, freaking out a bit on the inside.

"Sorry about her, she's on the sensitive side." Angelica stated.

Judai looked from Hana to the small spirit and then at Winged Kuriboh, finally realizing exactly what happened. He got on his knees to be at Hana's level.

"Can you see duel spirits?" Judai asked.

Hana sighed and wiped away the tears that formed in the corner of her eyes before looking up at Judai. She didn't say anything, she just nodded and looked at Yubel.

"S-so can you." She muttered.

Judai glanced over his shoulder at Yubel. "Yeah, I can. That's Yubel."

Yubel simply crossed their arms and looked away.

"Hey, let's just start over. You're, what was it? Hana Mitarashi?" Judai asked.

Hana nodded.

"And you said you wanted to talk to me?" He added.

Hana tensed up. "Oh, it's n-nothing important. I've caused enough trouble, I shouldn't bother you further."

She stood up to walk away and Judai followed suit. He was going to stop her, but remembered touching her was probably a bad idea.

"Hana, wait!" Judai called out, making her stop. "I'm your teacher, if there's something you need me to know then it's important you tell me."

She hesitated before turning back around and staring at the ground. It was silent on the roof as Hana tried to work up the courage to speak. And finally the words managed to come out.

"You're… you're the reason I wanted to attend Duel Academy. You were put in Osiris and you stayed there until you graduated, and you were proud to be there. You became the top student and no one's ever been on the same level as you since then. You started at the bottom and you became the best, but you never left the bottom, and that's what gave me the-..." Hana let out a sigh. "That's what gave me the courage to accept that I would start at the bottom too. I'm not a good duelist, but my dream is to become one. And thanks to you, I've accepted that it's okay to start at the bottom. It's okay to stay there too. I can become the greatest duelist ever even when I'm still at the bottom. Just like you."

Judai just stared at her. He had no idea he could have such an affect on another person before even meeting them. He didn't know Hana even existed before that morning and yet the actions he took when he was her age made big changes in her life. He did manage to see the effect he had on the people around him, but he never once comprehended the effect he had on things he couldn't see. If Hana felt brave enough to come to Duel Academy thanks to him, then who else's life did he alter as well? How much did Judai change about the world just by existing?

"Hana," Judai said, causing her to look up at him. "thank you for telling me that. I've… I've made some big mistakes in my life before and I've seen the damage it's caused, so to know my actions had a positive effect on the life of someone I never knew… well, it makes me feel pretty proud of myself."

Judai smiled at her and she suddenly became overwhelmed with emotions. He was her idol, but _he_ was thanking _her_. It should've been the other way around instead. Regardless, it made tears well up in her eyes and she quickly reached out to hug Judai, who froze and didn't exactly know what to do. Yubel glared at the girl and Angelica clapped her hands in joy. Judai could hear Hana crying and just nervously patted her on the back.

"Ah, it's moments like these that make all the struggles of being a teacher actually worth it." Daitokuji commented.

Judai looked over at the man who suddenly appeared beside him, then back to Hana. He realized he no longer had anything to worry about. There was at least one student that greatly admired him and who knew how many more. So Judai was certain everything would be perfectly fine. He was going to be an amazing teacher.

With Hana's little crying session finished, Judai walked with her to the red dorms. She remembered that Kinozaki was still looking for Judai. She hoped he wouldn't be upset with her for not telling him where he was. As they approached the dorms, they spotted a few of the students standing around outside. One of them noticed the two walking up and gasped.

"It really is him!" He shouted.

"It's true!? Judai Yuki is our dorm leader!?" Another boy exclaimed.

Judai tensed up as they all turned to him. Hana immediately hid behind him.

"Oh geez, now I know how the others feel when they're spotted by fans…" Judai grumbled.

The group quickly approached him and he wanted to back up, but couldn't thanks to Hana being right behind him. Each one of them had a different thing they were trying to tell Judai, but they were all shouting over each other so he couldn't make out what anyone was saying. He didn't want to be rude, but they were causing a problem.

"Okay! Stop!" Judai shouted.

They all immediately stopped talking and just stared at him, making Judai shocked that it actually worked. He realized he underestimated how much power he had as a teacher.

"Okay, just- ugh, everyone be calm. There's no need to crowd around me. Yes, I'm Judai Yuki, and yes, I'm your dorm leader." Judai said.

A few of them cheered at the confirmation.

"Hey, Sensei! What's for dinner?" One boy asked.

"Oh… that's right, I have to do that too, don't I?" Judai muttered.

"You know some of the basics, so I'm sure it won't be hard to teach you how to make a few things for the kids, nya." Daitokuji said.

Judai and Hana both glanced at the man floating nearby.

"Alright, everyone head inside and I'll take care of that, okay?" Judai announced.

They all agreed and sped off to their dorm. With them gone, Judai let out a sigh of relief.

"W-who are you, anyway?" Hana asked Daitokuji.

"Oh, me? I'm a former teacher here, nya. I've been travelling with Judai-kun ever since he graduated. I guess you could say I'm like his predecessor, nya." Daitokuji explained.

"Former teacher? W-wait… so… you're a g-g-ghost?" Hana questioned, tensing up in fear.

Daitokuji nodded and Hana screamed before latching onto Judai's arm.

"W-woah! Hana!" Judai exclaimed.

"Wow, good job." Yubel said in a very sarcastic tone.

"Aren't you supposed to be watching the girls, nya?" Daitokuji replied, coming off a bit irritated.

Yubel groaned and faded away.

"Can everybody just calm down, please?" Judai muttered.

"Sounds like someone's had a long day." Angelica commented, floating by Judai's face.

"I have…" He responded.

Hana let out a deep sigh to calm her nerves and let go of Judai's arm. She was used to duel spirits, but she never met a ghost before, at least as far as she knew. Judai looked up at the sound of footsteps and couldn't speak up in time to warn Hana as arms wrapped around her waist.

"Han-chaaan!"

Hana screeched and looked over her shoulder to see Kiki with a big grin on her face.

"K-Kiki-chan!? What are you doing here?" Hana exclaimed in surprise.

"Heeey! Kiki went to the blue dorm with Aniki, but then Kiki wanted to see Han-chan, so Kiki came to the red dorm! Oh, hi Judai-sensei!" Kiki shouted and waved at Judai, who briefly waved back.

Hana escaped Kiki's grip and backed away. "You… wanted to see me?"

"Yeah! We're friends after all! We should eat dinner together! Kiki can join, right Sensei!?" Kiki requested.

Judai stared at Kiki for a moment before smiling. There was something about the overly energetic girl that reminded him of Sho and Kenzan in a way. She only just met Hana but she already clung to her like they were childhood friends, even despite them being in different dorms. He felt a bit bad for Kabayama though, since his students were still choosing the red dorm over the yellow dorm.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Judai agreed.

"Awesome!" Kiki cheered and pumped a first up in the air.

She grabbed Hana's hand and pulled her along to the red dorm to enter the mess hall. Angelica quickly followed behind them. Yubel suddenly reappeared, making Judai and Daitokuji turn to them.

"The girls are gone." Yubel stated.

"Gone? What, like, no one's in there?" Judai asked.

"Yes." Yubel responded.

Growing worried, Judai made his way to the mess hall. Walking inside, he realized both dorms were sitting down at the tables. The boys mostly occupied the left side and the girls filled the rest of the tables on the right side. Hana and Kiki sat in the corner in the back of the room, closer to the kitchen.

"Everyone eats in the same dorm?" Judai asked.

One of the girls who was obviously a third year student nodded. "Since there's not many of us and there's room for everyone we just do it this way."

Well that answered that. Judai made his way towards the back of the room to enter the kitchen when Kiki suddenly stood up.

"I wanna help cook! Can Kiki help cook, Sensei? Let Kiki help cook!" She begged.

"Uh, sure, I guess." Judai hesitantly agreed.

"Yay! Han-chan should help too!" She suggested.

Hana yelped as Kiki pulled her out of her seat and into the kitchen. Judai started to worry for Hana a bit. He joined the two girls in the kitchen and Daitokuji told Judai and Hana what to do. Kiki seemed to be perfectly fine doing her own thing so they left her be for the most part. Hana asked Judai a few dueling related questions every once in awhile and he answered the best he could. He wasn't all that great at giving out advice since not everything that worked for him worked so easily for other people, but he definitely wanted to help Hana as much as he could. She did look up to him after all.

Once they finished cooking, Judai and Hana were pretty proud of what they made, as was Daitokuji. Kiki also turned out to be an excellent cook, which surprised the others. They wondered just how many things Kiki was good at. The food was brought out to the rest of the dorm and the trio sat back down as everyone started eating.

"Kiki-chan, wouldn't you rather eat in your own dorm?" Hana asked.

"Hm?" Kiki swallowed her food before speaking. "Why would I do that? My friend is right here in the red dorm!"

"B-but your brother is in Obelisk, right? Couldn't you eat there?" Hana wondered.

"Yeah, probably. But Kiki said Kiki's friend is right here! None of my friends have ever let me eat with them before, so Kiki can't let this opportunity slip by!" Kiki cheerfully shouted.

Hana and Judai just stared at Kiki, not really sure how to react. Kiki was definitely unique to say the least. Judai was glad they were getting along though. Back before Judai officially started attending Duel Academy he never once thought about friends. He didn't have many to begin with and he never considered himself to be close with any of them anyway. So making friends at Duel Academy never exactly crossed his mind. Sure he met Sho and Misawa at the practical exam, but he didn't expect to see much of them at the academy. It was only because Sho became immediately attached to Judai that he had at least one friend. Having met Misawa previously, Judai knew he could talk to Misawa as well, which led to them becoming friends. He knew Manjoume started off disliking him and he supposed Asuka was a weird case. Judai realized as much as he liked having friends, he never really went out of his way to find people to become friends with. He just ended up growing close with the people already around him or the ones who approached him first.

It dawned on him that he was grateful to them for that. Without them Judai wasn't sure if he would have any friends. Perhaps he would at least have Johan and maybe Edo though. Or maybe no matter what he was destined to become friends with all of them. Regardless, without them he never would have made it as far as he did. After all the times he'd fallen down he wouldn't have been able to get back up without his friends.

That's why he wanted his students to grow close. He wanted them to have friends that would be there for them just like Judai had friends that were there for him. Even after it was his fault they were gone and he felt all alone, in the end his bonds were restored and he returned to his old self. Even after a decade they were all still friends. And they would remain that way, is what Judai hoped.

"-and during breaks you can come hang out with me in Yamaguchi! Wait, you don't live far away, do you?" Kiki questioned.

"Huh? Uh, n-no. I live in Okayama." Hana responded.

Kiki suddenly let out an exaggerated gasp. "That's right next to Hyogo! My brother lives in Hyogo! That's awesome! So instead we could meet up in Okayama! You'll probably be more comfortable in your home prefecture anyway! I'll bring all my Blizzard Prince movies and my recordings of all his commercials and we can have a Blizzard Prince marathon! You have _got_ to let me bake you a Blizzard Prince cake too! I got the recipe off his blog but my mom wouldn't let me make it at home so-"

"Hey Kiki, why don't you slow down a little. Your food'll get cold." Judai suggested, noticing Hana looked like her head was spinning.

"Oh! Right, right, right! It's too good to waste!" Kiki exclaimed as she stuffed her face.

Hana just let out a sigh of relief. She didn't mind that Kiki wanted to spend time with her, it was nice actually. But they only just met that morning and Kiki was already talking about visiting her over breaks. It was just a little too fast for Hana.

"So I take it you're a fan of Fubuki-san, Kiki?" Judai inquired.

"Oh absolutely! I've been to every single one of his movies at least five times! I've watched every show he's ever cameoed in all the way through! Well, except for the ones still airing. I have posters all over my walls back home! My mom made me leave everything at home though. Something about not wanting me to be weird, I dunno. But I also listen to everything the band he guest sang for puts out now in case they ever bring him back! I've gotten his autograph three separate times and the last time he remembered my name from before! I also follow all his social media, and his sister's but she doesn't post much, but I noticed a guy he's taken pictures with before so I scoured the internet for him and eventually found out who he is. His name is Ryo Marufuji so now I follow him _and_ his brother too!" Kiki suddenly pulled out her phone and opened up a page for a website. "He also posted this last week and it's had me _so_ worried ever since!"

She shoved her phone in Judai's face and he backed up a bit to see it properly. Once he realized the context, his heart dropped. It was a picture of some kind of latte with two straws in it. The caption said 'I miss my buddy too. Please be out there.' followed by a sad looking emoji. Even Fubuki was worried enough about Judai that he was posting on social media over it. It was obvious the others were talking to each other and wondering why Judai was ignoring them. Judging by Fubuki's word choice Judai hoped they didn't consider it was a worst case scenario. Kiki pulled her phone away and started messing around with it.

"So I'm thinking he's probably talking about Ryo Marufuji since it's been a long time since he posted a picture of them together and he's mentioned Ryo like this before. But the tough thing is that Ryo rarely, if ever, posts and when he does it's always about this league he runs with his brother or whatever. Like, advertisements basically. So I was wondering if he meant his sister instead, so I check her page and-"

"Yuki-sensei?" Hana cut off Kiki, noticing Judai seemed pretty down.

Kiki looked up and turned to Judai too. He was just staring down at his food. Kiki couldn't see it, but Winged Kuriboh appeared next to Judai, looking worried. He finally looked over at the two girls.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Fubuki-san's a friend, so-"

"You're friends with the Blizzard Prince!?" Kiki shouted, startling a few people in the mess hall.

"Uh, yes. I went here with him and his sister-"

"Ahh! Omigosh! You've _got_ to tell me everything! What room did he stay in!? What classes did he have!? What were his test scores!?" Kiki rapidly yelled.

"I don't know, I don't remember, and why would I know that?" Judai responded, almost too taken aback.

"Maybe you could… ask more about him later, Kiki-chan?" Hana suggested.

"Ah, right! Later! I've got three years to ask Sensei everything about the Blizzard Prince! I shouldn't waste all my questions on the first day!" Kiki agreed and started scarfing down her food.

Regaining his senses, Judai couldn't help but chuckle a bit. He wasn't bothered by Kiki at all, in fact, he found her to be quite fun. She just needed to learn how to slow down a bit. She did seem very passionate about her interests though, which Judai was glad about. He was even happy to know Fubuki had such a big admirer considering the celebrity loved to give his fans as much attention as possible.

The door to the mess hall then opened and the room fell silent as everyone looked over. Standing in the doorway was Kinozaki, who surveyed the room for a moment. While tension between the dorms was practically nonexistent, unlike how it used to be, they all still found it weird that someone from Obelisk would willingly visit the Osiris dorm. Kinozaki spotted Judai in the back sitting with Kiki and Hana. He closed the door behind him and walked past everyone to reach the far end table. Hana nervously looked up at him while Judai and Kiki just looked confused.

"Mind if I join you all?" He asked.

"Not at all, take a seat." Judai answered.

"Thank you." Kinozaki said as he sat down across from the other three.

"Hey, Kino-chan should eat too! Kiki made some stuff all on her own so Kino-chan should try it!" Kiki decided and got up to grab an extra plate of food before Kinozaki could properly answer her.

"Kino-chan, huh? You and Kiki already friends too?" Judai wondered.

"Oh, no. Her brother and I are close friends so we know each other, but it's nothing more than that." Kinozaki explained.

Kiki came back and slid a plate full of food in front of Kinozaki then sat back down.

"When you get back to the blue dorm you better tell Aniki what he's missing out on!" Kiki ordered.

"Depends on if it's as good as he claims your cooking is." Kinozaki said with a smile before taking a bite.

Kiki let out a groan and crossed her arms while Judai chuckled slightly at the exchange. Hana was just worried that Kinozaki was upset at her so she kept her gaze down at her plate.

"So what brings you all the way to the red dorm anyway?" Judai asked.

"That can wait until later if you don't mind." Kinozaki replied.

Judai just stared at him for a moment before nodding. Kiki may have been strange, but Kinozaki was strange in an entirely different way. He was polite, but he was also so matter of fact and assertive. Even Judai felt like he couldn't press Kinozaki for an answer until later.

Dinner continued on as usual. Kiki did most of the talking and the other three just listened to her as she rambled on and on about something they completely lost track of. Most of the students started finishing their dinner so a few went ahead and left the mess hall early. Kiki finished first out of the group and eventually so did the others. Most of the girls were ready to go back to their own dorm so Hana got up to excuse herself and go join them. Kiki followed her though, which caused Kinozaki to follow suit and Judai walked outside with him.

"Hey, Han-chan! Let's have a sleepover!" Kiki suggested.

"Huh? B-but, you're not allowed to stay the night in a dorm that isn't yours. You should go back to the yellow dorm. I'm sure your dorm leader needs to know where you are too." Hana said.

"Aww!" Kiki whined. "Han-chan's right though… Kiki'll go back."

"I'll, um… see you tomorrow though, okay?" Hana replied.

Kiki got a big smile on her face and nodded. "Right! Kiki'll see Han-chan tomorrow too!"

She then hugged Hana, who yelped, and quickly ran off to the yellow dorms. Hana sighed and turned to Kinozaki, but was too nervous to say anything.

"I guess you found him, huh?" Kinozaki said.

"I-I'm sorry! I would have told you, but…" Hana trailed off and shook her head.

"No big deal, I found him anyway. I guess waiting at the red dorm should've been the obvious choice to begin with." Kinozaki responded.

Hana nodded, glad that Kinozaki wasn't upset like she thought he would be.

"Um, see you tomorrow, Kinozaki-kun, Yuki-sensei." She said.

"Judai-sensei." Judai corrected her, causing her to stare at him. "Just call me Judai-sensei. Yuki-sensei feels way too weird."

She nodded again before walking to the girls' dorm, leaving Judai and Kinozaki by themselves.

"So, I take it it's later now?" Judai assumed.

Kinozaki turned around to face him. "Yes, I suppose it is. Judai-sensei, I want you to tutor me."

"Huh? Tutor you? What, in alchemy?" Judai asked.

"No, no. In dueling." Kinozaki clarified.

"Are ya sure? I mean, the semester only just started. Whatever I could help you with by tutoring, you'd probably end up learning throughout the year anyway." Judai said.

"I don't need help getting better at dueling though. I want to learn how to enjoy dueling. I think you're the only one that can teach me that." Kinozaki explained, making Judai stare at him in surprise. "I've been training to become a pro duelist most of my life, so I never grew up enjoying it, only thinking of it as work. I must admit, I don't think I know how to enjoy anything really. So if anything, I'd at least like to learn how to enjoy dueling."

Judai's eyes softened as he realized Kinozaki was in a similar place he once was. He forgot how to enjoy dueling after everything that happened with Yubel. It took support from his friends and a duel with Yugi to get him back to his old self, so he knew how important it was to not let go of having fun. Judai didn't want to see anyone else treating dueling so seriously like he did back then. That wasn't what it was meant to be. Dueling was supposed to be fun and a way for duelists to connect with each other. He wanted everyone to feel that way about dueling, Kinozaki included. Besides, the last time Judai truly enjoyed a duel was at last year's reunion with Johan, so Judai was sure tutoring Kinozaki would be beneficial to both of them.

"Sure then, Kinozaki. Why don't you come back here same time tomorrow and we'll get started then." Judai offered.

Kinozaki looked a bit pleasantly surprised and smiled at Judai. "Thank you, Sensei. I'll see you tomorrow."

Judai smiled back and waved as Kinozaki walked away to go to his own dorm. Once he was out of sight, Judai focused his eyes on the main school building. The sun was setting, which turned the sky orange.

"I guess it _was_ silly of me to worry, huh?" Judai wondered aloud, but got no response.

Cronos walked into Samejima's office holding a small stack of papers and placed them down on the headmaster's desk.

"These were the ones you requested, yes?" Cronos asked.

"They are, thank you." Samejima answered as he picked them up and flipped through them. "Hm, Hana Mitarashi. She scored average on the written exam and below average on the practical. She shows a lot of promise, but it's clear she's lacking in confidence, which is holding her back. Hajime Kinozaki. He scored perfectly on both exams. He competed in several minor league tournaments and has already been considered for the major league, so I wonder why he chose to attend Duel Academy when he could've skipped attending entirely. Kiki Arakawa. She scored above average on both exams and has had perfect grades all her life. She even beat the practical exam in two turns. She could easily be in Obelisk, but she doesn't seem to have the refinement needed. Sabrina Himeno. She scored near perfect on the written exam but only average on the practical exam. She seems to know what she's doing, but isn't great at executing it. She was one of the first members of the public to have access to Synchro summoning. Probably since her father is a famous business mogul. Hikaru Arakawa. He scored below average on both exams. I'm surprised he even passed at all. It doesn't seem like he's even really a duelist. Why would he enroll in a duel academy then? Either way, it seems like Judai-kun got quite the pick from this year's students."

"I just hope him being here doesn't cause anymore issues. The past decade has been so calm and I'm too old to start having life-or-death experiences again." Cronos commented.

Samejima chuckled and turned his chair around to face the window. "Judai-kun does seem to attract some strange events, but like always, I know we can rely on him."

Cronos let out a sigh and Samejima watched out the window for a moment as the sun set on the first day of the new semester.


	3. Left Behind

(Just wanna say thank you for the reviews on this fic so far! And while I only planned for it to be three chapters, it's now going to be much longer than that. So please look forward to the extended story after the first arc is complete!)

Judai sat in the meeting room with the rest of the teachers and somewhat listened to what Samejima was telling them. He had to admit he found the staff meetings to be much more boring than he expected. He wasn't even sure what he expected to begin with. It was a meeting, meetings were always boring. Turns out there were some aspects of adulthood that Judai was glad he missed out on experiencing for ten years. Still, he ultimately did need to know what was going on so he had to try listening anyway.

"-and we don't need anyone breaking anymore bones like last year, so do try to stop it when you see it." Samejima finished up his current topic. "Moving on, the final decision has been made for this year's guest duelist."

"Guest duelist?" Judai repeated in confusion, not realizing he spoke out loud until everyone was looking at him.

"Oh, I thought you knew already, Judai-kun. My apologies. A few years ago we started inviting pro duelists early in the semester to hold an exhibition duel for all the new students to watch. Turns out seeing a pro in action gets them more interested in becoming pros themselves and doing better in their classes." Samejima explained.

"So, who's this year's guest?" Judai asked, making everyone else curious as well.

"Asuka Tenjoin, the Cyber Queen." Samejima announced.

Judai felt his heart stop.

A month had passed since Judai became a teacher. He fell into a simple routine of teaching, tutoring, and studying. He taught his classes everyday, had his tutoring session Kinozaki after classes, which Hana and Kiki liked to watch, cooked and ate dinner with everyone, and spent the rest of his time relaxing, grading papers, or learning more about alchemy as needed. He surprisingly never felt tired of it. Some days he really needed to head to bed early though, but he felt that was just him getting old, even if he was only twenty-eight.

Judai had grown closer with his students as well. He knew just about all the Osiris students by name and he was working on memorizing the names of all his students in his classes. Almost everyone came to him for advice at some point or another, which he still didn't consider himself good at giving out. Judai had to start wondering why the kids looked up to him in the first place. Sure he'd done lots of crazy things in his life, but he never really considered himself remarkable at all. It still astounded him Hana even idolized him. What was there to idolize? All he did was stay a part of the red dorm. Well, if it meant something to Hana then who was Judai to try telling her it wasn't anything important.

He did feel like anyone else would make a better idol though, especially Asuka. Unlike everyone else, she never signed on to any deals or joined Fubuki on the big screen or even put herself in front of the public that much. She only did maybe four interviews over the course of her career and tried to disguise herself whenever she went out shopping. The paparazzi absolutely loved trying to track her down, which she was often very vocal about hating at the reunions.

That's what made her the perfect person to look up to. Asuka didn't relish in the limelight. She didn't care about the attention and the celebrity status that came with being so successful. She just wanted a good duel and some respect from her opponents. Perhaps that's why so many young girls adored her. Of course there was the fact that she was a beautiful woman making her way to the top of a male dominated field, but Asuka hated when she was looked at like that. There was no need to pay attention to her appearance or the fact that she was a woman. She wasn't a beautiful duelist or a female duelist, she was just a duelist like everyone else around her. She didn't care for the way she was idolized, but since she couldn't do anything about it she at least wanted all the young girls out there to know that they should be treated the same way Asuka wanted to be treated. As an equal and not a female counterpart to the male default.

Maybe Judai found himself looking up to her too. Being a man, he never thought about those kinds of things. Then again, he was positive he never really cared about the specifics of who someone was. As long as they were a duelist that wanted to have fun in a respectable way, that was all that mattered to him. Asuka even complimented him on that a few years back, but he didn't understand why that deserved praise. Asuka herself even admitted that he didn't, but thanks to the way the world worked it was something that needed to be acknowledged. Even if he was confused by it, Judai admired Asuka's efforts. No one tried as hard as she did, not even Judai.

Regardless of all of that though, Judai was internally freaking out over seeing Asuka next week. He hadn't spoken to any of his friends in almost two months and apparently they were getting close to assuming he was dead. Even despite the news, Judai still couldn't bring himself to call or text one of them, not even Johan. Did he ever want to speak to them again? He felt like since he made the decision to return home he was beginning his life anew. Maybe that meant casting away everything from before, friends included. But he wasn't truly starting over as if he had been reincarnated… again. He could always pick up his phone at any minute and let one of them know what had happened. He had the opportunity, he just felt like it was impossible to do.

It had been so long now and he moved on from the pain of not having a reunion that year that in a way, leaving everyone behind felt okay. He knew it was wrong, especially since he already gave a speech to his class about holding onto bonds and never letting them go, but he felt like everyone else let them go instead. It was childish and selfish of Judai to think that since he was the only one that didn't have a job and responsibilities, but he couldn't just ignore the way he felt since it wasn't 'mature'. Perhaps it was okay to feel that way then. Perhaps the problem was in how he dealt with it instead. Feeling hurt despite the circumstances being understandable was normal, abandoning everyone in response to that probably wasn't.

Judai had to learn how to stop reacting so strongly like that. Sometimes it resulted in a positive outcome, but most of the time it resulted in him doing something incredibly rash and dumb. It made him start to hate himself. Why couldn't he just keep himself under control? Why did he have to be such an impulsive person? In the best situation it made him a hero and in the worst situation it got his friends killed. His impulsive decisions once destroyed himself and now they were making his friends worry that he would never be seen again.

He wanted them to forget about him. That had to be the only solution. He was certain he messed up and if they all thought he was dead then the only thing he could do now was fake his death so they would stop worrying over him. That way Asuka wouldn't be mad at him once she came to the academy either. It was obvious he was holding them all back anyway. Everyone had to take time out of their busy schedules to accommodate for the reunion he wanted to have. Judai never had to reschedule interviews or take time off work or anything like that. His refusal to get a life obviously just disrupted everyone else's. So they were better off without him. They were moving on and being responsible adults while he was clearly trying to keep his childhood memories alive through nostalgia.

He was stupid. So stupid, stupid, stupid for shutting everyone out again. He didn't even realize he was doing it again. He thought he would get over it in a few days and he'd let everyone know what he was doing, but no. He ignored them. He made them worry and question his safety all because he couldn't bring himself to respond to them.

He was falling into his depression again too. Did he ever really get out of it to begin with? Maybe he was only fooling himself the entire decade. Maybe he was just given some motivation again and used that to run away from his problems. What even were his problems? Feeling like a failure despite everything working out? How stupid was that?

Judai wanted to curl up in bed and just forget everything. Maybe even disappear too, he wasn't exactly sure. He never wanted the day to come where he had to face Asuka and the affect his actions had on his friends, especially now that he realized just how idiotic and rash it all was.

It all started getting to him. He was quieter when lecturing to his class and couldn't always keep up with what Daitokuji was telling him. He was forgetting names and mixing them up with his friends' names. He barely said a word during dinner, which concerned Hana, Kiki, and Kinozaki, and he couldn't focus during his practice duels with Kinozaki. He went to bed a lot earlier too. He really did just want to sleep everything away.

Forever.

In the middle of gym class Kiki and Kinozaki batted a tennis ball back and forth between each other at one of the courts while Hana stood to the side and watched them. Kiki ran around to hit the ball whenever it crossed onto her side and made big swings with her racket to hit back. Kinozaki on the other hand, stayed relatively still, but reached out to hit the ball as needed.

"Hii-yah!" Kiki exclaimed as she swung her racket.

The ball bounced into Kinozaki's court and he just reached a hand up to swat it back with his racket.

"C'mon! At least act like it's an epic battle to the death!" Kiki whined.

"I don't think I'm capable of that." Kinozaki stated.

"Still not able to have fun?" Hana wondered.

"Nope. And I don't think Judai-sensei can either." He responded.

Kiki hit the ball back and she and Hana shared a look with each other.

"What do ya guys think is up with him anyway? He totally isn't like how he was just a week ago." Kiki questioned.

"Maybe… maybe he got some bad news?" Hana suggested.

"Yeah, maybe a relative died or something." Kinozaki added as he swung his racket at the ball.

"Why don't we just ask him? Oh- hyah!" Kiki hit the ball a bit too late, making it go out of bounds.

Kinozaki walked off to go get the tennis ball, leaving the girls by themselves.

"Doesn't asking him feel a bit personal though? We're his students, I don't think asking him about his personal life is appropriate." Hana refuted.

"Didn't Han-chan say Sensei is a super duper cheerful person though? If Sensei's not being cheerful then something's gotta be wrong! There's nothing wrong with wanting Sensei to cheer up and be himself again!" Kiki assured her.

Hana stared at Kiki for a moment before looking down at the racket she was holding.

"I am worried about him. He's not the Judai-sensei that made me want to come here…" Hana muttered to herself.

Across the gym, Kinozaki stepped on the ball to finally stop it from rolling away. He bent down to pick it up and when he came back up, he found himself face to face with Hikaru, which made the taller teen flinch in surprise.

"Geez, Hikaru." Kinozaki said as he let out a sigh.

"Ehehe, sorry Hajime." Hikaru apologized as he rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, why don't ya play with me an' Rina? Ya know, like ya usually do?"

Kinozaki glanced back over his shoulder at the girls, who were chatting with each other while they waited for him, then he looked back to Hikaru.

"You have Sabrina though, you don't need me. I gotta go." Kinozaki refused before turning around and leaving.

"Uh, but-..." Hikaru reached a hand out after his friend. "I do need you…"

His red eyes watched for a moment as Kinozaki approached the girls and Kiki pushed a nervous Hana onto the court to trade places. Hikaru yelped as a tennis ball whizzed past his face and struck the wall a far distance away.

"Don't hit it that hard!" Ms. Ayukawa called out.

"Sorry! Didn't mean to!" Sabrina shouted in the politest voice she could muster. "Hikaru! Get back here! You're wasting time!"

Hikaru sighed and turned around to collect the tennis ball before returning to the court he and Sabrina were using.

"Just forget about Kinozaki." She said. "He obviously wants to be around that 'pretty little wallflower' now instead of you. I never liked him anyway, so I wouldn't consider it a loss."

"I like him though." Hikaru muttered as he haphazardly threw the tennis ball across the court to Sabrina.

The day went on as usual and, like he had been for the past few days, Kinozaki sat next to Hana instead of Sabrina in class. The three talked together like any other friend trio, except Kiki was the loudest and talked the most. Hikaru and Sabrina sat in their usual places and remained silent. Even when Kinozaki was with them they were still relatively quiet, unless something happened to set Sabrina off. But at least when Kinozaki was with them Hikaru didn't mind that they didn't talk. As long as he was sitting with his friends then Hikaru was happy. With Kinozaki sitting with his sister and the wallflower though, Hikaru didn't even care that he still had Sabrina. He wanted both of his friends with him at a bare minimum, otherwise everything fell apart for him.

When classes ended everyone walked out of the classroom to spend their time doing whatever else they wanted. Hikaru waited for a moment as Kinozaki walked by him with Hana and Kiki.

"Hajime…!" Hikaru called out.

As the trio walked down the hall, Kinozaki glanced over his shoulder to look at Hikaru. There was no expression on his face, and considering that was normal for Kinozaki, Hikaru couldn't tell how the other teen felt. Did Kinozaki want to ignore Hikaru? Or did Kinozaki feel guilty for ignoring Hikaru? Hikaru wished he had the ability to know. He never could tell what Kinozaki was thinking, no matter how hard he tried, which admittedly wasn't very hard.

"Hikaru, I'm gonna leave you behind if you don't hurry up!" Sabrina shouted from down the other end of the hall.

He looked over to see Sabrina walking away, then back to Kinozaki, who was already disappearing around the corner. He just stood there for a moment, completely stuck. One side of him wanted to go after Kinozaki, while the other side wanted to catch up with Sabrina. It felt just like junior high graduation all over again. With one last look in Kinozaki's direction, Hikaru reluctantly turned around and followed after Sabrina.

"Geez, you're slower than usual. What's with you today?" Sabrina questioned as Hikaru appeared beside her, but she couldn't really care less about the answer.

"I just wanna take a nap…" Hikaru said, but not exactly as a response to Sabrina.

"Ugh, you _always_ want to take a nap." She grumbled.

Hikaru simply nodded his head in agreement as he stared at the ground. For a split second, Sabrina's eyes glanced over at him before she furrowed her brow in frustration.

Hana, Kiki, and Kinozaki approached the red dorms together in silence. They intended to finally do something about Judai's odd behavior, but none of them were sure exactly how to go about that yet. Kiki wanted to cheer him up at the least, but they needed to know what was wrong first. It could have been any number of things and they likely weren't equipped to help him at all.

"So what's the plan? Just ask him, 'hey why are you sad'?" Kinozaki questioned.

"That's one way to go about it!" Kiki responded.

"Shouldn't we be less direct? I know when I'm sad I don't like my family asking me why." Hana suggested.

"Your family asks you why you're sad?" Kiki inquired, looking genuinely confused.

"Wh- y-yes! And yours doesn't?!" Hana replied in shock.

"My mom's never asked me how I'm doing." Kiki said, not seeming bothered by her statement.

"Seconded. Looks like Hana-chan lucked out in the parents department then." Kinozaki added and patted Hana on the back.

Hana tensed up and stopped in her tracks before regaining her senses. "H-hey! D-don't turn it around to make it seem like I won something! All parents are supposed to-"

_'Honk honk!'_

The sound of a horn interrupted Hana and startled her enough to make her yelp. Kinozaki and Kiki looked over their shoulders to see a small truck driving towards them.

"'Scuse me! Outta the way kiddos!" Ms. Tome, who was driving the truck, shouted at them.

Hana was too frozen to move, so Kinozaki grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside. Ms. Tome drove by and Hana found herself against Kinozaki's chest. Her face turned bright red as she looked up at him, his expression seeming slightly concerned, or maybe that was his usual expression. Hana couldn't tell, especially with how embarrassed she was. The snickering in the background from Angelica wasn't helping either. Hana attempted to back up, but Kiki suddenly pressed up against her and hugged her from behind, making her stuck between Kiki and Kinozaki.

"Yay! Han-chan's not dead!" Kiki cheered.

"She might be if you don't let go." Kinozaki refuted, noticing Hana looked like she was about to pass out.

"Oh, hehe. Whoopsie-daisy!" Kiki responded and let go of Hana.

She stumbled a bit as she backed away and shook her head. Angelica floated up beside her without a word.

"D-don't do that!" Hana exclaimed.

Kiki and Kinozaki looked at each other, not sure who Hana was talking to, but they felt like it could be equally directed at both of them.

"Kiki was just glad Han-chan's not dead!" Kiki responded.

"You were just standing there. What was I supposed to do? Let you get hit?" Kinozaki replied.

Hana gently patted herself on the cheeks and let out a sigh, her face finally returning to its former color. "I know, I know. I just- we need to worry about Judai-sensei! Not me!"

She abruptly sprinted off the rest of the way to the red dorms and Angelica flew after her. Kiki and Kinozaki simply stood there and watched her go.

"Han-chan sure does get embarrassed easily, huh?" Kiki noted.

"Embarrassed…?" Kinozaki thought for a moment before realization finally hit him and his blue eyes widened a bit. "Oh… Wow, I sure am dense."

"Hm? Kino-chan?" Kiki called out in confusion, completely bypassing the revelation Kinozaki came to.

Hana finally reached the red dorms and her friends eventually showed up behind her. The same truck that almost hit Hana was parked in front of the boys' dorm. Ms. Tome got out of the truck once the trio stopped beside it.

"Oh, you kids. Do be more careful walking around out here. Don't you know you could get run over?" Ms. Tome told them, making Hana feel embarrassed again.

"I think the bigger question is why there's a truck on the island to begin with." Kinozaki commented and Kiki nodded in agreement.

"I need it to carry supplies for the card shop in the school building. It's a lot easier driving everything up there once than going back and forth dozens of times, especially at my age." Ms. Tome explained.

"But then what're ya doing with it out here?" Kiki wondered.

"Poor Judai-kun was feeling under the weather so he asked me to make dinner for the red dorms in his place." Ms. Tome answered.

"Under the weather? So he's sick?" Hana questioned.

"Ah! He's got the flu! That's it! We're contaminated then, aren't we!?" Kiki shouted, scaring Hana.

"I doubt it. A sick person doesn't act like Judai-sensei has been." Kinozaki said.

"Oh? You don't think he's sick?" Ms. Tome wondered.

"Well, not with anything like the flu." Kinozaki replied.

Everyone took a moment to think on things. Judai definitely hadn't been himself for the past week and now he was lying about feeling sick so he wouldn't have to make dinner. He was already seeming distant so he was clearly trying to be alone.

"Do we… do we still try to do something?" Hana asked.

"Nothing has changed from our original idea, has it? So we still should." Kinozaki told her.

"Well if he wants to be left alone then I don't know about you kids trying to butt in. Judai-kun's been through a lot, so I'm sure every once in awhile he needs time to himself." Ms. Tome advised.

The three teens all looked at each other with slightly concerned expressions before something suddenly dawned on Kiki.

"Hey, wait a minute! Kiki can make dinner just fine herself! No one else needs to do it! Only Kiki!" She exclaimed, sounding a tad irritated in her own unique way.

"That's your priority?" Kinozaki muttered in disappointment. "Actually, hold on. Kiki-chan, why don't you help Tome-san with dinner and Hana-chan and I will check on Judai-sensei?"

"Ah, that's perfect! Kiki'll make sure it's perfect! Kiki'll show she can do it all by herself!" Kiki cheered.

"Well, if you think so… But I don't know about you two bothering Judai-kun." Ms. Tome responded.

"If he doesn't want to talk, then we'll leave him be. I promise." Kinozaki lied.

Ms. Tome stared at him for a moment and she couldn't tell if he was being genuine or had a perfect poker face. She eventually sighed and shrugged her shoulders though.

"Alright, I guess I can't stop you kids." She said.

"Yay! Cooking time!" Kiki shouted and ran off to the mess hall.

Ms. Tome followed after Kiki, leaving Hana and Kinozaki alone.

"W-wait… you and I are going to see Judai-sensei alone?" Hana repeated for clarification.

"Yes? Is there a problem with that?" Kinozaki replied.

Hana tensed up. "N-no…"

"Then I'll go see if I can find Yubel or that old guy!" Angelica decided.

"No, wait!" Hana protested, but it was too late since Angelica already faded away.

Kinozaki raised a brow and glanced in the direction Hana was looking, but didn't see anything.

"What?" He asked.

"Eep! Uh, n-nothing! Never mind! Let's just… go." She responded and quickly turned around.

Kinozaki just stared at the back of Hana's head as she walked to the dorm and he followed behind her. They entered the main room of the dorm, which was once the space renovated by Manjoume. There were a few boys that hadn't gone to the mess hall yet just sitting around. They weren't too surprised to see Kinozaki since he had been joining them for dinner everyday for the past month, but it definitely made them a bit nervous to have Hana in the room since girls weren't supposed to be anywhere in the boys' dorm except the mess hall. She had to admit she felt awkward being in there as well. It made her feel like she walked into the wrong restroom.

"Have any of you seen Judai-sensei?" Kinozaki asked the room.

"Uh, yeah. He walked by earlier and went to his room." One boy on the couch said, pointing to the door in the corner.

"Thanks." Kinozaki replied.

He immediately walked past everyone and Hana scrambled to stay close behind him. Standing before the door to Judai's bedroom, Kinozaki lightly knocked on it.

"Sensei, you in there? It's Kinozaki and Hana-chan." He announced.

They received no response.

On the other side of the door, Angelica fazed through the wall of the bedroom and surveyed the room. The lights were off so the room was pitch black. Despite not being able to see much, she could tell where the bed was. She started flying over to it, but a clawed hand gripped onto her tiny body. Getting forcibly turned around, she came to realize Yubel was her captor.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Get out of here." They whispered in an aggressive tone.

"Woah, hey! Don't be so rough on a cute little fairy! I'm only trying to help Hana out! Her and the others are worried about Judai!" Angelica explained.

"I don't care. Judai needs to be left alone right now. So leave and tell them to not bother him or else I'll pluck your wings off." Yubel threatened.

Angelica glared at Yubel, but the two were surprised when a staff with a candle attached to it was pointed in Yubel's direction. Angelica looked over her shoulder and Yubel looked up to see Aromage Rosemary in front of them, armed with her staff like she was ready to use it as a bat.

"Let Angelica go and maybe we'll listen." She whispered.

"Oh great, more of you. I don't mind doing this, but not when Judai needs some peace and quiet." Yubel said.

"Then we can take this outside." Rosemary offered, the serious expression on her face visible thanks to the light of her staff's candle.

"Aw yeah, kick their ass Rosie!" Angelica encouraged her ally.

"Fine, I haven't been able to have some fun for a while now anyway." Yubel agreed.

There was a quick rustling sound and a creek from the bed that caused the spirits to suddenly look over. Rosemary's candle allowed them to see that Judai was now sitting up in bed, his head hung low and Winged Kuriboh floating beside him.

"Please stop." Judai muttered.

Yubel immediately released Angelica and went over to Judai, sitting down next to him on the bed. They unfortunately couldn't properly touch him in their current state, but Yubel placed a hand over Judai's anyway. Angelica shook herself for a moment before stretching her arms out, glad to be free before anything bad could happen to her. Rosemary became worried about Judai as well, so Angelica was a bit irritated when she realized Rosemary was practically ignoring her.

"We're sorry for bothering you, but Hana was just worried is all." Rosemary apologized.

Judai slowly shook his head. "It's okay, I guess I haven't been acting like myself anyway. Of course they would notice sooner or later."

"Should I knock again?" Kinozaki's voice was heard from the other side of the door.

"No, don't do that! What if he's gone to sleep? Maybe we should just try to talk to him tomorrow." Hana responded.

Judai moved to get out of bed and Yubel floated around him to get in his way.

"You don't have to answer them if you don't want to, Judai." Yubel advised.

"I know, but I wanna. They're worried about me… I don't-... I don't wanna make anyone else worry." Judai replied.

Yubel stared at him with a concerned expression before letting out a sigh and moving aside. Rosemary and Angelica shared a look with each other before fading away to return to Hana's deck. Judai walked up to the door and opened it, getting bothered by the light coming from the main room. Kinozaki seemed a bit surprised while Hana looked startled to see that Judai actually opened the door. Hana couldn't quite bring herself to look him in the face, so Kinozaki was the only one that noticed the empty look in Judai's brown eyes.

"Uh, hey you two. Sorry, but… I realized I must be pretty sick so I'm trying to quarantine myself. I don't need to be getting you kids infected too." Judai said.

Kinozaki's brow furrowed a bit as he figured out that Judai wasn't a very good liar. Hana backed up a step, not wanting to be contaminated by whatever she thought Judai might have.

"Now Sensei, you and I both know that's not true." Kinozaki stated.

Both Judai and Hana's eyes widened as they stared at Kinozaki.

"K-Kinozaki-kun! Are you accusing Judai-sensei of lying?!" Hana asked in shock.

"Ehehe… I see you're not one I should underestimate. You're right, I'm not really sick." Judai revealed, making Hana even more shocked. "But I still don't think I can do our tutoring session today. Or anything else today, for that matter. Maybe you could try practicing with Hana or Kiki instead."

"Ah, b-but… we wanted to ask-"

"I know, Hana." Judai interrupted the girl. "Thank you guys for worrying about me, but don't waste your time on me, okay? I'm an adult, I can take care of myself. Worry more about each other, alright?"

And without waiting for a response, Judai gently closed the door and returned to his bed. Hana and Kinozaki just stood there for a moment before looking at each other.

"Why don't we regroup and come back later?" Kinozaki suggested.

Without knowing anything else they could do, Hana simply nodded in agreement. The two returned to the mess hall and sat down at their usual table in the back. Once Kiki finished helping Ms. Tome cook, she joined her friends and they all began eating dinner together, along with the rest of the Osiris students.

"So- omph! How did- omph! It go?" Kiki asked as she ate.

"He's got himself hold up in his room." Kinozaki stated.

"He told us not to worry about him, but… that just means there's reason to worry." Hana added.

"Okaaay, so is there _anything_ we can do?" Kiki wondered.

"Not very well until we know what the problem is." Hana said.

"I gotta be honest here. I'm not exactly a people person, nor am I good with the whole 'compassion' thing unfortunately. I doubt I can truly be of much help here." Kinozaki admitted.

"That's okay! I'm no good with people either, I'm just way too shy. But you're trying anyway and that's what matters." Hana told him.

"Kiki's starting to wonder if Kino-chan can even feel any emotions." Kiki stated.

"I have to question whether you and Hikaru are capable of feeling anything that _isn't_ overtly positive or does that run in the family." Kinozaki responded.

"Well, Dad isn't like this, so it must just be us!" Kiki cheerfully replied with a big smile.

Kinozaki simply sighed.

"Oh, wait!" Hana exclaimed as something dawned on her. "Kiki-chan, you know a lot about philosophy, right? Do you think that could help us?"

"Mnn…" Kiki pressed a finger to her chin and thought for a moment. "Philosophy is more about asking those questions on life that no one has a real answer to and self reflection and whatnot. Unless Sensei's having an existential crisis or something, then philosophy isn't gonna help him."

"Actually, what if that is it though?" Kinozaki wondered.

"Sensei having an existential crisis? But why?" Kiki questioned.

"I guess we won't know unless he tells us or we can find something out on our own." Kinozaki said.

"Then we're just back at square one…" Hana muttered.

Kiki nodded and Kinozaki sighed again. There really wasn't anything they could do for the time being. They simply continued to sit there in silence and finish their dinner. Things really felt boring without Judai. Without him Kinozaki didn't have much of a reason to be there in the first place. He still wasn't sure if he considered Hana and Kiki to be his friends anyway. Hana did enjoy the other two's company since she didn't particularly like being lonely, even though she had her spirit companions, but her natural shyness made her unable to start a conversation with them. Being around others, even if they did view her as a friend, still made her nervous no matter what. Kiki, meanwhile, had no problems sticking with the other two despite Judai's absence. They were her friends after all, even if she viewed everyone as a friend. But thanks to the mood being down due to Judai's strange behavior, even she didn't feel it was appropriate to go off on one of her long rambling sessions.

The mess hall eventually cleared out and Ms. Tome stuck around to do the dishes. Once she took the plates off the trio's table, they realized they finally had to do something. It was Kinozaki who stood up first, making the girls look at him.

"I'm going back to the blue dorm." He announced.

"Huh? But… what about Judai-sensei?" Hana wondered.

"And you're tutoring session!" Kiki added.

"That can wait, I'm in no rush. But, I feel like if we push Sensei any further then he may clam up and we'll never be able to do anything. We should try again tomorrow." Kinozaki responded.

"Tomorrow. Okay! That sounds good." Kiki agreed.

Hana silently nodded, not really wanting to wait so long to act again.

"I'm gonna go now. See you guys in class." He said before turning around.

"Wait! Lemme walk halfway with you!" Kiki exclaimed as she jumped from her seat. "Bye Han-chan! Stay strong!"

Kiki gave her a quick hug as she ran by, which didn't surprise Hana as much as it usually would, and ran off with Kinozaki. Hana remained the only one still in the mess hall.

She didn't want Judai to stay down in the dumps for longer than necessary. She wanted to do anything she could as soon as possible. Judai already gave Hana so much help just by being himself so she wanted to do the same in return. She stood up and walked to the door that connected to the main room. Stepping inside, she noticed it was empty. All the boys must have gone to their rooms or elsewhere for the afternoon. It was just a few steps until she was standing in front of Judai's door again. She didn't bother knocking and instead sat on the floor and pressed her back against the door.

It was a long time before she gathered her thoughts enough to finally say something.

"Judai-sensei… if you're still up, will you listen to me?" Hana asked.

There was a short pause before a slight creak could be heard, followed by light footsteps. Hana realized Judai was actually going to listen to her when she felt something press up against the other side of the door.

"I… first heard about you from my brother." Hana started. "He's quite a bit older than me so we've never really been as close as normal siblings, but I look up to him a lot. He attended Duel Academy at the same time as you. I think… you were a third year when he was a first year."

Unbeknownst to Hana, Judai was struck with a sudden feeling of panic.

"Onii-sama attended a duel prep school before enrolling here and got into Obelisk Blue. Our parents were so proud of him, and so was I. His dream was to become a pro… so we were all devastated when he dropped out early in his second year. He never really explained why. He came back different too, like something happened to him here. I sort of remember something being on the news about the academy and my parents being super worried for a while, but I was too young to really know what was going on."

Judai wanted to tell Hana to stop, but he didn't want to be rude. He knew what she was telling him was important to her.

"I wanted to be a duelist too, since I could see duel spirits, but I've never been very good. And after seeing how different Onii-sama became… I started to lose hope for myself. My own brother worked so hard to become a pro-duelist and only ended up dropping out and never even getting a high school diploma. So what hope did I have to turn out better than him? And then I heard about you on the internet while doing research on Duel Academy. Former students were talking on forums about how cool you were and people were asking them questions about you like you were some kind of celebrity. I asked Onii-sama about you and if it was all true and you know what he said?"

Judai didn't respond, but even though he didn't want to know he knew Hana was going to tell him anyway.

"He said it was all lies. He said you were nothing but a troublemaker that got others roped up in your problems. I lost hope again until I did more research. At first I thought some conspiracy theorists got really interested in Duel Academy because there was all this stuff connecting the academy to things that happened in Domino City a decade ago, some satellite takeover, a cult, and the entire school disappearing at some point. Coupled with interviews of former students, the conclusion was made that _you_ were the source of it all. I didn't believe it initially, but now… after meeting you, I know it's all real. You helped stop all that dangerous stuff, and that just makes me look up to you even more."

Judai wasn't exactly expecting that reaction.

"I was too scared to fully commit to attending Duel Academy. Onii-sama failed and talked down about the one person I still idolized, but it was still you that encouraged me to enroll anyway. Like I said, you started at the bottom and became the best despite staying at the bottom. So it's okay if I stay here. I can succeed even at rock bottom. Onii-sama could have too if he didn't give up. And because you're you… no matter how many times you hit rock bottom, I know you'll always succeed, Judai-sensei. Even if you stay there."

It was but a moment later that Judai strained himself trying not to cry. He really did feel like he was back at rock bottom. Maybe not legitimately since he was still in control of himself, but he didn't think he could handle feeling worse. It hurt to hear about Hana's brother and know it was Judai's fault that his life was ruined. But it made him realize there were two sides to everything. While the events of his life gave Hana confidence, it also destroyed her brother. There was no doubt there were others too. People on the forums Hana spoke of that viewed him as a celebrity and people that were at the academy the day it got transported thanks to Yubel and Cobra. He hurt so many people and helped so many others. And maybe that was just a part of life. He couldn't control the effects of his actions. He never imagined he could inadvertently help someone like Hana, so it stood to reason that he could inadvertently hurt someone without realizing it too. Anything could work that way and there wasn't much he could do about that. Perhaps if he ever met Hana's brother then they could talk and it would help them both, but it was unlikely he could meet with and help everyone he ever indirectly hurt. He would just have to live with the fact that there were people out there that he caused problems for that he couldn't rectify.

Like his friends.

It was true he continued to bother them and make them worry, but the fact they worried at all meant they still cared. They didn't give up on Judai. They were still trying to contact him even after a month. Kenzan still texted him nearly daily for a decade straight. Sho and Ryo still invited him to tournaments. Manjoume talked often about how he'd kicked Judai's butt in their next duel. Asuka called frequently to check that he was taking care of himself. Johan would call just to talk and hear his voice every once in a while. Even when O'Brien was swamped with work he would still pick up the phone immediately for Judai. Fubuki was always sending Judai updates on his own life. Rei still sent a message every few months asking if Judai wanted to go on a date if he was in the country, which he always turned down. The few times Judai came to Australia, Jim was overjoyed to have him visit. And despite how little he and Edo were able to talk nowadays, whenever they did Edo was always so apologetic about it. It solidified to Judai that even if he caused them problems and made them worry from time to time, they all still loved him. They worried because they cared.

But that didn't erase Judai's actions. It was still his fault for not responding to them. Even just a quick little "Hey guys, I'm okay." text to one of them could have solved everything. It wasn't too late to do that actually. At any moment he could pick up his phone and do just that. So why couldn't he? He would have to face Asuka soon anyway. So reassuring everyone before she suddenly found him alive and well as a teacher would be best.

But he still couldn't bring himself to do it. It was like it was impossible even if it actually wasn't. His brain and his body and every fiber in him told him it was impossible. Doing it wasn't an option, but he knew that wasn't true. He knew logically he could do it, but physically he couldn't. It made Judai want to scream at himself.

"Hana-san?" A serene voice called out.

Hana looked up across the room to see her two roommates standing in the doorway.

"There ya are! We've been lookin' for ya! It's gettin' late so we got worried." The purple haired girl said.

"Kanaya-san… Gōda… Sorry. I didn't mean to sit here for so long." Hana apologized and glanced back at Judai's door before getting up.

The three girls met in the middle of the room. Standing before Hana was Aria Kanaya and Miu Gōda, fellow first years, but Hana wasn't sure if she was close enough to them yet to call them friends. The two seemed to get along with each other rather quickly despite their drastic differences though.

Aria was a petite girl that was ever so slightly taller than Hana with porcelain skin and piercing yellow eyes that never seemed interested in anything. Her straight dark brown hair fell to her neck and the sides cupped her face just a bit. Her bangs were straight as well and parted a bit to the left. She wore silver studded earrings and a white hairband on her head. There was even a frilly white choker around her neck. The clothes Aria wore seemed the strangest to Hana since it didn't even feel like it was trying to be the school uniform. Still, she never appeared to get in trouble for it. Her white top revealed her shoulders and the edges were covered in frilly lace. There appeared to be a layer of sparkles or glitter over the front. The bottom was a short white tulle skirt with the same sparkly effect on it. The only thing that indicated she was in Osiris Red were her bright red ankle boots. Aria also wore a few silver rings on her fingers and her deck box was attached to the side of her skirt. Her hands were gently placed in front of her waist with her ankles crossed, giving off the impression that she would start dancing at any moment. The way she carried herself so eloquently made even Obelisk Blue girls turn their heads her way.

Gōda, on the other hand, was very much Aria's opposite. She was a tall, somewhat chubby, girl who was probably about the same height as Hikaru and was on the tanner side, which made the difference between her and Aria stand out more whenever they stood next to each other. Gōda's purple hair reached to her jawline and curved in a bit despite its messiness. A limp red bow kept all but one strand of her bangs pulled back and a bronze hair clip shaped like a cat head rested on the left side of her hair. She had short but big eyebrows and cheerful blue eyes. Freckles were splashed across her nose and cheeks as well. Gōda didn't wear the traditional uniform, but rather a red version of the gym uniform with red gym shorts and tennis shoes. She simply kept her deck in the pocket of her jacket. Her accent made it a bit difficult for others to understand her at times, but at least it wasn't as thick as it could have been. Her speaking rather loudly and quickly all the time didn't exactly help though. It often startled Hana, but somehow Aria never seemed to mind it.

"It was gettin' kinda late and ya hadn't come back to our room yet, so we decided to look for ya!" Gōda explained.

"You don't stay out this late. We grew concerned." Aria added.

Hana raised her eyebrows at her roommates. "You… came to look for me…?"

"'Course we did! We can't let precious lil' Hana get stuck out in the spooky darkness, now can we?" Gōda replied as she ruffled the top of Hana's hair.

"Why are you in the boys' dorm alone? It looks like everyone is gone." Aria questioned.

As Hana fixed her hair, she looked over her shoulder to Judai's door, wondering if he was still listening or not.

"I was… talking to Judai-sensei." Hana said.

"Oh! Sensei's seemed off lately, hasn't he? Ya know what's up with him?" Gōda wondered.

Hana shook her head. "Not really, no. He just wants to be left alone."

"Then it would be best to give him space, yes?" Aria suggested. "You seem close with Yuki-sensei, but sometimes giving someone room is better than pushing."

"I know, I know. I just wanted to say a few things then I'd be on my way." Hana said.

"Good, then ya can come back with us, yeah?" Gōda asked.

Hana nodded. "Yeah."

With a smile on her face, Gōda grabbed one of Hana's hands and pulled her to the door of the dorm, causing Hana to yelp a bit. Aria stood there for a moment before looking back at Judai's door, not noticing Yubel and Daitokuji floating in front of it. She then slowly walked away to follow after her two roommates. Once the room was clear, Yubel and Daitokuji shared a look with each other.

"She's really a sweet girl, nya." Daitokuji commented.

"She's trying to get too much into Judai's business." Yubel rebuked.

"Well, in an indirect way it does involve her. Judai-kun and her brother only turned out the way they did because- Eep!" Daitokuji cut himself off when he realized Yubel was glaring at him.

"That's not what this is about right now." Yubel stated before fading away.

Daitokuji let out a sigh and pressed the tips of his fingers together. "It's times like these I miss Pharaoh even more, nya."

In the bedroom, Judai got up from his place in front of the door and moved to sitting on his bed.

"She's only trying to help. I know that, but…" Judai tried to hold back a choked sob. "W-what do I do now?"

Yubel appeared behind Judai and placed their hands on his shoulders.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Judai." Yubel said.

"But I should!" He shouted and covered his face with his hands. "I have to let them know I'm okay! I won't be able to handle meeting Asuka again if I don't!"

Yubel remained silent, not being good at giving out advice, let alone actually helpful advice. It wasn't a matter they really cared about anyway. They wanted Judai to be as happy as possible, but didn't particularly care about Judai's friends. If Yubel got their way, Judai's friends would be permanently out of the picture. Of course, Yubel did get that for a little while, but look where that got Judai. Yubel understood now that Judai's friends were important to him. He needed them a lot, even if he was rarely actually around them nowadays. Yubel still didn't really care though. They only cared about Judai, and Judai was hurting right now, but no one could help. Not Yubel, not Hana, and certainly not Judai himself.

Halfway across the island, Kiki and Kinozaki parted ways close to the yellow dorms. Kiki waved as she watched him continue on to his own dorm before heading up to her's. Upon reaching the entrances to both dorms, Kiki spotted a fellow dorm member up ahead. Once she got close enough, she realized she recognized them.

"Setsu-senpaaai!" She called out and ran up to them.

"Huh?! O-oh, Kiki-chan… How many times do I have to keep telling you it's Setsu_na_-senpai? And I would prefer you call me Ozawa-senpai anyway since I respect how you want to be addressed." They responded as Kiki stopped in front of them.

Setsuna Ozawa, a second year in Ra Yellow and stickler for formalities. They had a medium skin tone and silver, always serious looking, eyes with a small mole under their left eye. Their green hair just barely touched their shoulders and the front ends curled around their jaw. A bit of hair stuck outward on both sides of their head just above their ears. Their uniform jacket was in the traditional style other than being sleeveless and unbuttoned with a white untucked button up shirt underneath. The sleeves were rolled up to their elbows, revealing a black leather bracelet with metal studs on their right wrist. They had on brown khakis and the uniform standard shoes with their deck box clipped to their belt. A single thick book was held tightly against their chest, which was less than Setsuna usually had when coming back from the library.

"Nope! Nicknames only with Kiki! All Kiki's friends get nicknames!" She replied.

Setsuna just stared at her. "Riiight… Well we're not friends, so stick with no nicknames."

"Aww, but everyone Kiki knows is Kiki's friend!" She whined.

Setsuna sighed. "And that's how you get people to not like you. You need to be polite and formal with people you don't know very well. Otherwise you seem rude, and I know that's not your intention so you don't want that."

Kiki groaned. "But I've never been able to get all that formality stuff! I wanna be friends with everyone so I should start off super friendly! That's what makes sense."

"That only makes sense to you. It's not the way the world works either." Setsuna retorted.

"Well it doesn't make sense that everyone else can make sense of what Kiki can't make sense of!" Kiki exclaimed.

Setsuna's eyes widened a bit, trying to make sense of what Kiki said before a possible theory started coming to them. Setsuna let out another sigh.

"I think that's okay. Just make sense of what you can and ask for help when you need it." They stated in a softer tone.

Kiki looked confused for a moment before getting an idea.

"So I can ask you for help!?" She cheerfully wondered.

"No." Setsuna bluntly said. "I would prefer solitude. Helping others means no solitude. You have friends though. Ask them."

"Nnnngh! But it's a problem we all have together and we can't figure out what to do! C'mooon! Aren't you a super duper smarty pants?! Doesn't that mean you like figuring out problems?" Kiki shouted.

Setsuna looked a tad annoyed at Kiki's loudness for a second, but brushed it off.

"While I appreciate the compliment to my intelligence and the ego boost, I honestly doubt I would be able to help. But I suppose you can tell me anyway, just in case." They responded.

"Awesome, thankies!" Kiki took in a big breath of air in preparation for her long explanation. "Okay so, you have Alchemy class, right? So ya know Judai-sensei, so you've had to have noticed he's been acting weird lately, right? Well Kino-chan and Han-chan and Kiki, that's me, have been trying to figure out what's up with Sensei! So we _were_ gonna do that today, but Kino-chan and Han-chan said he wouldn't really talk to them. But we kinda, sorta, possibly, maybe managed to figure out that he's just sad about something! But my thing is, I don't get why."

Setsuna stared at Kiki with wide eyes as if they suddenly became dizzy. Kiki certainly knew how to talk someone's ear off, that was for sure. Setsuna shook their head and groaned.

"O...kay… I think I got most of that. I have noticed Yuki-sensei acting differently, but I don't particularly care about why. It's none of my business anyway. I can assure you I don't know why he's being like that." Setsuna responded.

Kiko quickly shook her head. "No, no! I know no one knows _why_! I'm looking for why people get sad at all."

"How am I supposed to- ugh…" Setsuna rubbed their head, absolutely positive that their theory was right. "So what, you don't get sad?"

"Hm…? Uh, does Kiki get sad? I dunno. I'm always happy about everything and I'm never bothered by stuff."

"That can't be true. You have to have _some_ things that bother you."

"Ummm… Okay well, I guess I am bothered by a few things. I don't like the way wool clothing feels. It makes my skin feel all crawly. The squeaky sound from markers on a white board bothered me sooo much in junior high! I can't stand mashed potatoes 'cause they feel way too smooth! Food should _not_ be that smooth! Oh, and when my mom says bad things about my dad and my brother."

"...Uh-huh… the personalness of that last one aside, just like you have things that bother you, so do others. I don't like loud or crowded places. I don't like talking to older adults. And I don't like being interrupted when I'm trying to have my quiet time. It can bother me enough that I get angry over it. Some people get angry too, or they get sad. Everyone reacts differently to the things that bother them. Maybe Yuki-sensei had something bother him enough that it'll take time for him to be himself again."

"Something bothered him enough… that it'll take time for him to be himself again…"

"Maybe. Don't take my word as fact.

"Thanks so much Setsu-senpai!"

Kiki suddenly pulled Setsuna into a tight hug and they froze up from the contact.

"I have to go tell Han-chan before it's too late! Tell Kabayama-sensei I'll be back later!" Kiki shouted as she let go of Setsuna and started to run off.

"Uh, wait! Kiki-chan! It's getting dark out! You'll get cold dressed like that! There's a curfew too you know!" Setsuna called out.

Kiki didn't respond and instead disappeared once she was far enough away. Setsuna just sighed and pinched the bridge of their nose.

"I suppose as long as she's not struggling she can get up to whatever antics she wants." Setsuna muttered to themself before turning to head inside their dorm.

The rest of the way across the island, Kinozaki quietly approached the boys' blue dorm. Unlike the girls, he wasn't worried about the Judai situation at all. He knew everything would get taken care of eventually. Although, he did wonder why he was helping in the first place. He didn't feel he had any reason to. Whatever had gotten to Judai wasn't exactly his business, nor did he feel concerned at all. He wondered if he was even curious as to why Judai was acting the way he was.

Kinozaki looked down at the palm of his hand while he walked. Why was he asking in the first place? Did he want to help? Did he want to care about Judai being alright? Did he want Hana to not have to worry? He didn't think he'd ever feel those kinds of things. He still couldn't be certain though. He shouldn't worry about it until he was absolutely sure anyway. He never liked focusing on things he wasn't sure about.

"Hola! Hajimeee!"

Kinozaki stopped in his tracks, realizing he was right in front of the dorm. When he looked up, Kinozaki saw Hikaru jumping off his balconing right above him. Not even the slightest hint of emotion showed on his face as he stepped forward just a bit and held out his arms to catch Hikaru. The pink haired boy miraculously landed perfectly in his friend's arms and let out a chuckle.

"Hello." Kinozaki stated and gently let Hikaru down.

"No, you're supposed to say hola back. That's how we always do it." Hikaru corrected in a disappointed tone.

"Oh, okay. Hola. Me voy a ir ahora." Kinozaki responded as he began walking past Hikaru.

"W-wait, Hajime! Ya know I dunno that much!" Hikaru exclaimed and caught up with Kinozaki.

"I would think after living next door to each other our whole lives you would know that one." Kinozaki said and opened the front door to walk inside the dorm.

"Yeah, but ya know me. I'm as forgetful as they come." Hikaru gently knocked on the side of his head. "Plus I don't hear it anywhere else 'cept you an' your old man anyway. Hard to learn that way."

"True. But anyway, don't do that again. That was dangerous and reckless." Kinozaki scolded the other teen.

"Aw, but I got so excited when I saw ya out the window that I couldn't take the long way. Took less work too. Besides, ya caught me perfectly! Nice job!" Hikaru replied with a lazy smile and held up a peace sign.

"Were you waiting for me?" Kinozaki asked as he made his way up the stairs.

"'Course I was! I was uh… hopin' after your tutoring we could hang out for a bit. Ya know, if ya wanna." Hikaru suggested, trailing behind Kinozaki.

"You didn't hang out with Sabrina?" The taller teen asked further.

"Nah, I did. We didn't really do much though. She... left to hang out with some other girls." Hikaru muttered.

"Mn. Well, I can't. I have homework." Kinozaki said.

"Aaand… if ya didn't have homework?"

"If I didn't have homework I would study. Like you should."

"Mngh… What's the point though?"

"Of what? Me studying or you studying?"

"Of both! You're smart! I bet ya know this stuff already. There's no way I'd get any of it though."

Kinozaki stopped in the middle of the hallway and Hikaru almost bumped into the back of him.

"That's not true." Kinozaki muttered.

"Hm? Hajime?" Hikaru quietly called out.

"Why do you think that's true?" Kinozaki asked.

"U-uh… 'Cause I see you studying all the time. A-an' ya get perfect scores on, like, everything. I look at a worksheet an' get so confused that I give up halfway through. I don't pay attention in class either an' I don't really retain anything I learn for very long. Am I… wrong?" Hikaru tried to explain.

Kinozaki remained silent. He wasn't good at talking about feelings, let alone understanding them on the rare occasions that he thought about them. Hikaru was already talking down about himself anyway, Kinozaki didn't want to do the same and then turn the conversation into a back and forth between who thought less of themselves. Knowing Hikaru, he would never believe Kinozaki anyway. He wouldn't believe that Kinozaki working so hard didn't mean Kinozaki was a hard worker. Even though it actually meant Kinozaki was always pushing himself to his limit. It wouldn't help anyway. He just needed to push it all aside for the time being.

"I… gotta go." Kinozaki said.

Hikaru froze. Kinozaki said the same exact thing when he walked away in gym class. Hearing it again felt like a dagger through his chest. His friend really was leaving him. He was being abandoned. Kinozaki didn't want anything to do with Hikaru anymore. He moved on to Hana and Kiki, leaving Hikaru behind. Kinozaki took a step forward and Hikaru suddenly desperately latched onto his arm.

"Don't leave me!" Hikaru shouted, not caring about anyone resting in their rooms that might hear him.

It was Kinozaki's turn to freeze up. Hikaru had such a tight grip on him that he felt like his arm would go numb. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't one for taking action and he was never bothered by Hikaru, but his space was being invaded and he had no idea why Hikaru was reacting so dramatically.

"Don't leave me again, Hajime! Please don't! We're friends! We're friends… right?" Hikaru exclaimed.

Kinozaki just stared at Hikaru's red eyes. They looked so pained. Had Kinozaki done something to upset Hikaru? He couldn't imagine what. He didn't even know how to respond either. Were they friends? They knew each other for as far back as they could remember. But was that enough to count? Hikaru would come over to Kinozaki's house every chance he could get. He'd play in Kinozaki's room with him, have dinner with his family, watch Kinozaki duel, and show up to every single one of his tournament matches. Hikaru was always there, even when his time started to split up between Kinozaki and Sabrina. But did Kinozaki even want him there? He never once made the choice to spend time with Hikaru, it was all Hikaru's decision. If it were up to Kinozaki, he would live his life alone without anyone else around. Not even his parents would be there. Hikaru obviously considered Kinozaki his best friend, maybe even closer to him than Sabrina. But did Kinozaki feel the same way?

Were they friends?

"I… I don't know." Kinozaki muttered.

"What do you mean you don't know?! What was all the time we spent together then?!" Hikaru shouted, his voice cracking a bit.

"I don't know!" Kinozaki shouted back.

Hikaru's eyes widened, tears suddenly appearing in the corners of them, and his hands dropped down to his sides as he took a step back. He never once in his life ever heard Kinozaki raise his voice. Kinozaki didn't sound angry, or upset. He just sounded… confused. Did he really not know? How could he not know? Of course, Hikaru did know Kinozaki never seemed to feel anything. Maybe because of that he didn't feel anything towards Hikaru, so how could he like or dislike Hikaru? Then did he just… tolerate Hikaru all these years?

It took a moment for Kinozaki to realize what he'd done. He yelled. And at Hikaru of all people. That was never something he wanted to do, but also something he didn't think he was capable of in the first place. And Hikaru looked so hurt too. Kinozaki couldn't stand to look at the way Hikaru stared down at the floor. It made him angry at himself.

Wait, angry? Had he ever felt angry before? He was angry, but that anger was directed at himself. He clearly hurt Hikaru and that was something Kinozaki realized he never wanted to happen. He never wanted Hikaru to feel hurt. Kinozaki never wanted Hikaru to be sad or feel like he was being left behind or think he was stupid. He always wanted Hikaru to be happy and smile and just relax like Hikaru enjoyed doing. Kinozaki didn't know if he considered Hikaru a friend, but he did know for certain that he cared about Hikaru. And that was the first thing he was ever sure he cared about.

"Hikaru…" Kinozaki finally broke the deafening silence between them.

"It's okay, Hajime… I'll leave you alone." Hikaru muttered, clearly trying to hold himself together as he spoke.

"Don't." Kinozaki immediately responded, surprising both of them. "I… Before we came here… I intended to just do my own thing, away from everyone. But then you said you were enrolling too, and my intended plan got pushed aside, 'cause with you here too, I was-... I don't want to say forced, but… I had no intention to hang around you and Sabrina, but you know I don't exactly have a problem with… going with the flow so to speak. But when I saw the opportunity to leave, I took it. And now I realize some stuff. I don't know if I consider you a friend. I don't know if I can ever consider anyone a friend. I'm not really sure if I even know what makes someone a friend. But I do know… I know I care about you, Hikaru. I don't want to see you hurt or upset. Not ever. I want you to be happy and if being happy means being around me, then that's what I want."

"Ha-Hajime… b-but you were just saying-"

"I know, I know. You just… made me realize it." Kinozaki interrupted Hikaru.

"But then… aren't I keeping you from doing what you want?" Hikaru wondered.

"I am doing what I want. I'm here, at Duel Academy. It doesn't matter who else is here. Just the fact that I'm here at all is what I wanted. You wanted to come here too, so aren't we both doing what we want then? You're not… you're not getting in the way, Hikaru. I don't… exactly know how to accomplish my goal here, but you aren't keeping me from doing anything. You might even help, I don't know."

"So… me being here isn't a problem?"

"No, it's not. It's never been."

Hikaru wiped his eyes with his sleeve and slowly stepped forward until he was close enough to Kinozaki. He simply put his head against Kinozaki's shoulder.

"You're weird, Hajime." He said.

"I know. You're weird too though." Kinozaki responded as he placed a hand on Hikaru's back.

Hikaru chuckled slightly. "Maybe we're all weird."

"That's saying the least. I still have homework to do though."

"Does the homework really matter right now?"

"It always matters if you want to graduate. You don't want to get left behind, do you?"

Kinozaki felt Hikaru grip onto the front of his jacket with one hand. So that was what he was afraid of.

"I dunno how to do it though…"

"That's why you shouldn't sleep in class." Kinozaki grumbled. "Okay then, how about this? We can hang out by working on the homework together."

"Ugh, learning?" Hikaru groaned as he let go of Kinozaki.

"Would you rather do it by yourself?" Kinozaki questioned.

"N-no! We can do it together!" Hikaru quickly replied.

"Good. Maybe all of us could study together someday." Kinozaki suggested.

Hikaru got a small smile on his face. "That'd be nice."

Just across the lake was the girls' blue dorm and in her room sat Sabrina, staring down at a piece of paper and muttering to herself as she aggressively scribbled on it.

"This is so stupid. Why do I need to do this anyway? It's dumb. Dumb! Ngh, I could get it done with my eyes closed! Hmph, I bet Kinozaki hasn't even finished it yet. No doubt Hikaru hasn't even started it! In faaact… those two might need my help. Hah, of course they do. They can't do anything without me after all." Sabrina glanced out her window. "It's getting a bit late, but a quick trip to their dorm wouldn't take too long."

Sabrina quickly stood up and snatched the homework off her desk as she ran across her room to the door.

"She's talking to herself again." Dancer of the Ice Barrier grumbled as she sat on Sabrina's bed.

"And convincing herself of odd things." Medium of the Ice Barrier added and shook her head.

"Like always…" Geomancer of the Ice Barrier mumbled.

"Hm?" Sabrina stood still for a moment before quickly turning around and seeing nothing there. "Ngh, can't I go one week without hearing things? Thought the house was just haunted, but that can't be it if it's happening here too… Hmm… any ghosts that followed me from my house need to leave me alone!"

"Quite rude to always refer to us as ghosts." Geomancer responded.

"Shhh!" Dancer and Medium tried to shush her.

Sabrina showed no indication of hearing them, so she simply groaned and turned around.

"Maybe I need to try that sage burning thing." She mumbled to herself as she opened her bedroom door.

"Hello!" A girl on the other side of the door greeted her.

"Aaaaahhhh!" Sabrina screamed and slammed her door shut.

"Too sudden?" The girl asked.

Sabrina let out a big sigh and tried to catch her breath before realization struck her and she realized who she slammed the door on.

"T-T-Tanaka-senpai!" She flung the door back open. "Oh. My. Gosh. I am _so_ sorry! That was so rude of me! I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay! I suppose it can be scary to open the door and find someone standing right there." The girl calmly said.

Katsuhira Tanaka, a third year and young lady treated like a big sister by all the other Obelisk Blue girls. She was a tall girl, between Hikaru and Kinozaki's height, with a skin tone the same as Setsuna's. Her long black hair was in a loose braid that gently rested over her left shoulder and a small portion on the right remained loosely held together by a yellow hair clip. Her amber eyes always had such a gentle look in them. Her uniform consisted of a white long sleeved shirt under a blue sleeveless dress that reached down to her ankles. The top of the dress had the same design as the traditional uniform jacket. Her shoes were the standard uniform ones in blue and she wore black tights under her dress. Her voice didn't quite match how it was expected to sound, but it was nonetheless calming to listen to.

"Uh, ah… right. Did you need something? I was just on my way out." Sabrina asked.

"Not exactly, it's just… I'm sure the walls are thinner than you think. I can hear you when you yell. Or even just raise your voice." Katsuhira answered.

Sabrina froze as her purple eyes widened. She let out another scream, but on the inside this time.

"I'm _so_ sorry! I can assure you I was absolutely _not_ talking to myself! Nope, definitely not! I was just, uh, working out my homework out loud!" Sabrina frantically lied with a fake smile on her face.

"With the ghosts?" Katsuhira wondered.

Sabrina felt herself shatter as she let out another inner scream, but kept the fake smile on her face as best she could.

"Oh, ahaha… That was, uh, just a joke. It's something my daddy used to say as a joke. That's all, hahaha…" Sabrina trailed off with a nervous laugh.

"Sounds like a fun man. Well, that was all, but where are you planning on going at this hour?" Katsuhira responded.

"Just to the boys' dorm! I thought a friend might need help with the homework so I was going to drop by for a bit! You know how boys are, always on the dumb side." Sabrina tensed up. "Oh! Uh, not that all boys are dumb, just most! Uh, but- I mean, not that-"

"No, you're right. But I would hate for you to go to the boys' dorm all by yourself at this hour. Wouldn't it be best to just text him?" The older girl suggested.

Sabrina was about to respond, but reality hit her and her fake smile disappeared as she let out a sigh.

"I doubt he would answer. That's why going over there is a better option." Sabrina stated.

"Oh come now, I can tell by the look on your face that it's more than that." Katsuhira pushed.

Sabrina turned around and put her hands on her hips. "He's probably busy with his other friend. The one he likes hanging out with more."

Katsuhira stepped inside the room and shut the door behind her. She walked over to the bed and Dancer and Geomancer floated away before she sat down.

"Tell me whatever you want about it, sweetie. I'm here to listen." She offered.

Sabrina sighed again and started pacing back and forth. "Kinozaki's hanging out with some other girl and Hikaru's sister now. And not that I care about that part because I couldn't care less about Kinozaki. He's always been an annoyance to me. But it's clearly been bothering Hikaru! And it's always annoying when Hikaru gets like that! Then he can't pay attention to me! And who else is supposed to pay attention to me when Hikaru doesn't?! I don't know anyone else around here! I mean, other than Kinozaki and I know you now and a few other girls, but I'm not close with anyone else yet!"

Katsuhira simply cocked her head to the side.

"Do you hear yourself?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Sabrina wondered.

"Tsk. She doesn't even hear herself." Dancer commented.

"She never does." Geomancer added.

"Oh be nice." Medium scolded.

"I mean… you say it's annoying when a dear friend feels bothered and he should pay attention to you instead. Doesn't that seem a bit, hmm… narcissistic?" Katsuhira suggested.

"Narcissistic?" Sabrina repeated.

Narcissistic." Dancer, Medium, and Geomancer said together.

"I mean, if he's bothered by another friend then you should be worried about that rather than him not being able to pay attention to you. If he's your friend then you care about him, right?" Katsuhira explained.

"No, no. I don't care what's going on with Hikaru. I just want things back to normal. _Without_ Kinozaki." Sabrina said.

"But… in order for things to go back to the status quo his problems will have to be solved. You can't just make him go back to normal as if that gets rid of the problem."

"But who cares about Kinozaki?!"

"He does, apparently."

Sabrina groaned. "It's always 'Kinozaki this' and 'Kinozaki that' with him. Never 'Oh you look gorgeous today, Sabrina' or 'What an amazing duel, you're the best duelist I've ever seen'. Maybe I want a little bit of attention sometimes!"

The three duel spirits shared a look with each other. Even Katsuhira looked a bit worried.

"Why do you want attention so badly?" She inquired.

"Uh, pssh, obviously because I deserve it. My daddy's business has connections to Industrial Illusions of all companies! I live in a mansion. I got synchro cards long before they were released. Everyone should pay attention to me!" Sabrina claimed.

"Hm, but do they?"

"Hmph. No. Only Hikaru and my parents do, and since I'm here it's only Hikaru now. But because he's too focused on Kinozaki, no one's paying attention to me now!"

"We are though." Medium stated.

"It's not like we can't." Dancer replied.

"I'd still rather not." Geomancer remarked.

"Have you ever considered that people don't need to pay attention to you?" Katsuhira asked.

Sabrina just stared at her for a moment before bursting with laughter. "Ahahaha! N-no way, no way! That's just not possible! How could people _not_ pay attention to me?!"

"I guess it's hard not to when you're so loud." Geomancer said.

"Huh?" Sabrina stopped laughing and looked at Katsuhira.

Dancer and Medium quickly shoved a hand over Geomancer's mouth to keep her quiet. Katsuhira glanced across the room for a moment before looking back to Sabrina.

"I didn't say anything. But, I really don't know how to explain to you that you don't need to be the center of attention all the time." Katsuhira said.

"I do respect you, Tanaka-senpai, but that's just ridiculous. How could I not be?" Sabrina responded.

Katsuhira stood up from Sabrina's bed. "Sorry to lay it on hard, but… it's because you're _not_."

Sabrina tensed up and the three duel spirits grew worried that she would snap.

"Now, it's getting late and we both should get ready for bed soon. If you ever need a tutor to help you with your homework, I'm right next door. So you don't need to lie, okay?" Katsuhira said as she made her way to the door. "Goodnight, Sabrina."

And with that, the door closed, leaving Sabrina seemingly all alone. The three duel spirits stared at her, waiting for her to make a move. It shocked all three of them when Sabrina dropped to her knees. They floated a bit closer to her, genuinely concerned for the young girl.

"I'm… I'm special. I'm important, and cool, and- and…" Sabrina put her hands over her face, trying to hold back her tears. "So why does no one like meeee?!"

The sound of Sabrina sobbing filled the room. Medium reached a hand out to put on Sabrina's back, but it just fazed right through the girl and she didn't show any sign of noticing it.

"Just leave her be." Dancer said, not trying to sound harsh.

Medium looked at the other two with a worried expression, then to the floor. Together, the three spirits faded away to leave Sabrina to herself.

Back across the island, Kiki ran the entire way to the red dorms and finally reached the door of the girls' dorm. She practically barreled through the door, startling the few girls that were still up and sitting in the main room.

"Han-chan! Where is she?!" Kiki shouted.

The girls glanced at each other, both confused and worried over Kiki's sudden appearance.

"Who?" One of them asked.

"Oh. Uh, Hana Mitarashi." Kiki corrected.

"Second floor, third door." Another girl stated.

"Thank you!" Kiki shouted before running back out of the dorm and shutting the door behind her.

She ran up the staircase outside and passed the third door, but turned around and quickly grabbed the handle, pushing it, but only slamming her body full force into the door. She yelped and fell backwards. There was a moment of silence as the door clicked and Kiki lifted her head up with a groan.

"The hell was that?" Gōda questioned as she opened the door.

"An intruder?" Hana nervously wondered from inside the room.

Gōda looked down to see Kiki on the ground and Aria poked her head out to get a look at what happened. After a moment, it became evident to her what transpired.

"The door is pull, not push. And it was locked." Aria calmly stated.

"O-oh… ehehe, my baaad! Now where's Han-chan?!" Kiki responded as she nearly jumped to her feet.

Hana quickly got off her bed and ran to the door, squeezing past her roommates at the sound of Kiki's voice.

"Kiki-chan?!" She exclaimed.

"Han-chan! There ya are! Listen, I got somethin' super duper mega important to tell ya! It's about Sensei!" Kiki shouted.

"Judai-sensei?! Uh, uh, okay! Come in. Wait, she can come in, right?" Hana asked.

Gōda and Aria looked at each other before looking back at Hana.

"Sure, don't see why not." Gōda said.

Without another second, Kiki barged into the room and practically tackled Hana, who screeched in response.

"Okay, I was talking to Setsu-senpai, they're from Ra Yellow too, and I was talking about the Sensei thing and they helped me figure out that- oh hey! Those pajamas are sooo cute! Green is definitely your color!" Kiki interrupted herself.

Hana glanced down at herself to look at her light green pajama shirt and pants with a pink flower pattern around the edges.

"Oh thank you, my mom bought them a bit before I left- wait, Kiki-chan!" Hana focused back on the matter at hand.

"Oh, right, right, right!" Kiki grabbed Hana's shoulders. "Sensei just needs time!"

"Hm? Time? I mean, I suppose that seems kinda obvious. We were gonna check on him tomorrow, but if giving it a few more days is a better idea…" Hana trailed off.

"Wait, I didn't make some kinda mega ultra awesome breakthrough?!" Kiki questioned.

"Not… really? I mean it does change the plan a bit. I think it's a better idea, but on a small scale I think we were already doing that by waiting until tomorrow." Hana explained.

Kiki simply whined.

"Ah, but… thank you for coming all this way to tell me though." Hana said with a smile.

Gōda looked back out the door and up at the sky. "Ya know, it's gettin' real late. Goin' back to yellow all by yourself might be a pain. Wanna jus' stay the night?"

"A sleepover?!" Kiki exclaimed.

"Well, ya are Hana's friend, so it's up to her." Gōda said.

"I-I don't mind." Hana agreed.

"Awesome! My first ever sleepover!" Kiki cheered and tightly hugged Hana.

"First?" Aria repeated. "Well, I suppose this would be my first as well."

"Hey, she looks 'bout your size. Let her borrow some pj's, Aria." Gōda suggested.

Aria nodded and walked over to the closet.

"This is gonna be the coolest night _ever_! We can stay up and tell spooky ghost stories! Paint each other's nails! Do our hair! I bet you'd look adorable in braids, Han-chan!" Kiki exclaimed and gently grabbed some of Hana's hair.

Hana took a step back so her hair was free and straightened it out with her fingers. "I'm not going to be getting much sleep, am I?"

"Doesn't sound like it, haha!" Gōda said with a laugh as she sat down on her bed.

Hana sighed, wondering how Judai's night was going. If all he needed was time, then that time was running out. Tomorrow Asuka would arrive. There was only hours left and to Judai, it felt like a countdown to the end of the world.

The girls enjoyed a calm night of chatting and growing closer. Hana felt she was certain she could call Aria and Gōda her friends now, and the two got to know Kiki pretty well, since she wouldn't stop talking about her interests. They did find her extensive knowledge on the Blizzard Prince rather impressive though. Aria made sure to remember to give a listen to the songs he's appeared in while Gōda admitted to being a big fan of one of the shows he guest starred in. Aria shared the stories of the antique dolls she kept on her shelf in their dorm room, but Hana confessed that the oldest doll creeped her out and Aria promised to store it in the closet later. Gōda brought up the topic of her volleyball team back home and some of the crazy antics they got up to. Kiki thought everyone playing a game of volleyball together would be a perfect idea, to which Gōda agreed, but Hana and Aria owned up to sports not being their thing. As the girls laid down to sleep, Hana listed off a great deal of facts she knew about flowers and how to raise them properly, making Aria suggest they get some seeds from the greenhouse and grow flowers around the dorm. Once they drifted off to sleep, Kiki ended up taking up most of the space on Hana's bed, but she didn't really mind. Her brother had a habit of doing the same thing when they were younger anyway.

In the blue dorms, Kinozaki and Hikaru studied late into the night, but Hikaru ended up getting so tired that he couldn't stay awake any longer and eventually fell asleep against Kinozaki. Kinozaki didn't have the heart to leave Hikaru after their little incident in the hall, so he stayed in Hikaru's room for the night. It was uncomfortable though, since he didn't want to move in case it woke Hikaru.

Sabrina, on the other hand, spent her night seemingly alone. She laid on her bed wrapped up in her blanket as tight as possible and cried herself to sleep, not even caring about the mess she would be in the morning. Dancer, Medium, and Geomancer sat out on the balcony, discussing amongst themselves and a few other Ice Barrier spirits. It wasn't like it mattered though, since there was nothing they could do as long as Sabrina couldn't see them. Hearing them only ended up freaking her out too. She would just have to sort things out herself.

And as for Judai, well, he couldn't sleep. He'd been low on energy for the past several days and sleeping longer, so thanks to that he was unable to fall asleep. He only felt groggy and restless. He couldn't stop tossing and turning in his bed either. Each time he checked his phone another half hour had passed. Another half hour closer to Asuka arriving. Another half hour closer to the moment when everything felt like it would end.

He had to do something. He couldn't just lay in bed and be a sad sap until Asuka barged into his room and yelled at him. He couldn't let the kids stay worried about him. He couldn't let Asuka be the one to inform everyone that he was safe as if he had run away and gone into hiding. No, he couldn't hide. Not from his friends. Not from the people that loved him so much that they never forgot about him or left him behind. Not when he kept doing that very same thing.

They weren't Hana's brother. They weren't all the other students that he never spoke to that had to face the consequences he never expected to deal with. They weren't strangers that he could never rectify his actions with. They were his friends. They were the people he'd been friends with since he was a teenager. Even if he couldn't fix things with every person he ever inadvertently hurt, he could still fix things with his friends.

He was sure now that he wasn't in their way or a constant nuisance to them. He could always talk to them, given that they were available at the time. And if they weren't, that was okay. Because they would get back to him when they could, and that was normal. It wasn't a sign that he was getting left behind just because he didn't go down the same path as everyone else.

So Judai finally sat up in his bed and checked his phone one more time. It wasn't long before the sun would rise so he doubted he would be getting any sleep. He knew there was a lot he had to say, to everyone, but he wondered if it would be too much to say in one long text so suddenly in the morning. Judai wasn't the best at giving speeches, he felt putting down his thoughts in writing made it easier to sort out his feelings, but talking one-on-one in person seemed like the better thing to do. It was quicker too. So explaining things to Asuka face to face would be more appropriate. Still, she probably wouldn't take it the right way if Judai just suddenly appeared before her when she least expected it, so he opened up his messages on his phone. He made sure to avoid reading anything though, since he didn't think he could handle seeing his friends get increasingly worried about him just yet.

_'Come to the school rooftop.'_

His word choice probably wasn't the best, but that didn't occur to him at the time. Judai just wanted to explain things properly after Asuka arrived without shocking her and he felt like the rooftop was the best place to do that. It was always his spot anyway. The place he went to whenever he needed a quick break or some alone time to think to himself. The view was nice too. But just sitting in his room waiting would only make the tension worse. As Judai got out of bed, Daitokuji appeared and let out a yawn.

"Going somewhere, nya?" He asked in a tired voice.

"Yeah, to wait for Asuka." Judai answered.

"At this hour? It's cold out, you know." Daitokuji responded.

"It's not like it'll kill me. Besides, I think waiting in here is more likely to kill me anyway. I need fresh air and sunlight. Or, well, moonlight right now I guess." Judai replied as he opened his bedroom door.

Daitokuji disappeared as Judai walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. He was quiet as he made his way across the dorm's main room and slipped outside. There was a cool breeze in the air, but it wasn't like it was freezing outside. With a quick look out at the ocean, Judai turned to head up to the main school building.

Thousands of miles away, Asuka stepped out of her hotel bathroom in a towel and walked over to the vanity across the room to sit down in front of the mirror. She brushed through her hair for a moment until her phone vibrated on the nightstand. She paused and glanced over at it before groaning as she reached out to pick it up.

"For the last time Nii-san, I'm not-" Asuka froze when her eyes rested on Judai's name in her notifications.

"Tenjoin-sama! There's one hour until you need to leave for your flight!" A woman's voice outside the room announced.

Asuka flinched and her phone slipped from her hand, falling underneath the vanity.

"Uh, uh, okay! Thank you!" Asuka responded.

As she stood up and got down on her knees to look for her phone, she wondered if she just imagined it. None of them had heard from Judai in so long that it started to feel impossible that they would ever hear from him. Asuka had been so worried lately too that she wouldn't put it past herself to hallucinate his name for a split second. She was sure that once she saw it again it would turn out to be another text from Fubuki, or maybe even Manjoume. Anyone but Judai.

But did she want it to be Judai? If it wasn't, then it would just disappoint her and make her worry for his safety all over again. If it was Judai though, then it could be any number of things. From him explaining where he was, to some kind of final goodbye, or even his parents informing everyone in his contacts of his death. Why did her worries always go to him dying though? She never understood that. Fubuki and Sho usually seemed to jump to the same conclusion too. Of course, Judai was out there wandering the world all by himself. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility for his latest crazy adventure to end up killing him, or even him dying just by not finding anywhere warm to sleep at night. Asuka really was always worried if he was eating enough and sleeping somewhere indoors.

Picking up her phone from the floor, Asuka flipped it on and turned on the screen. The fraction of a second it took for the screen to light up felt like it lasted forever. Once she could make sense of what she was looking at, a loud gasp escaped her lips.

"Judai!" Asuka exclaimed and tried to get up as quickly as she could, but smacked her head on the underside of the vanity. "Ow! Gah, damn it! Even now he's still causing me problems."

Asuka rubbed the back of her head and backed up so she could get to her feet. She unlocked her phone and quickly read the message.

"School? What school?" Asuka asked herself.

She turned to face the wall of her hotel room, which was one large window and walked up to it to get a good look out at the city.

"I don't see any school…" Asuka looked back down at the text. "Is this even from Judai?"

It seemed so strange and cryptic to her. She knew Judai wasn't the best at explanations, but the text just seemed a bit too off to her. If it was Judai, was he in the right mindset? Maybe it _was_ the start of some kind of final goodbye from him. Or potentially a kidnapper that was finally sending a ransom note. But in that case it would make sense for them to specify that was what it even was. It just didn't sit right with her. First the reunion had to be cancelled and then Judai goes off the grid for a month and a half, and now he sends a single text with no other indication of what was going on. Asuka couldn't even be sure it was Judai that sent it. She just hoped it was a sign that he was alive.

"Wait! School, does he mean the academy? Does he know I'm going to be there?" Asuka wondered aloud.

She didn't know who all at Duel Academy knew she would be arriving, but at least Samejima and a few others were aware. For the message to be sent just hours before she would get there seemed a little too perfectly timed. Either Judai was at the academy too, or at least his phone was. It was definitely his number after all. Perhaps he still showed up at the academy despite the reunion's cancellation and had been there the whole time. He was well known amongst the staff anyway so it stood to reason he might be told Asuka was showing up.

But then why did he never let anyone know? Initially they all thought he just needed some time to himself. The reunion did mean a lot to him, so a few days or a week of silence wasn't something she could really get mad about. But a month and a half was different. Fubuki really did start to think Judai was dead. Sho even mentioned potentially putting out a missing person's report on television during his league's tournament. She even heard through the grapevine that Johan called O'Brien while crying over the situation. Judai made them all worry so much only for him to turn up at Duel Academy probably having the time of his life without them.

But that wasn't the right way to think about it and Asuka knew that. How could she know the person that texted her really was Judai? She might not get another response again and just saying it was Judai didn't actually prove it was. For him to be silent for so long and finally reappear with a message for her to go to the academy's rooftop was so-

No. It was Judai.

It was Judai and he wasn't okay. The academy's rooftop was Judai's place. That was where he went for peace and quiet. He not only took naps up there, but it was also where he met Johan, and where he went a lot for a while after the GX tournament to think. If Judai wanted to meet Asuka there and not at the dock, or red dorms, or Samejima's office, then it wouldn't be a cheerful 'sunshine and sparkles' reunion. Judai wanted to meet somewhere he was sure he could think clearly. He had things he needed to say in person, Asuka was sure of it. She was just worried about what those things were.

"Tenjoin-sama, forty-five minutes!" The same woman called out.

"Oh, thank you!" Asuka responded.

She didn't realize she was wasting time just standing there. She needed to finish getting ready or else she would run late, and she didn't want to make Judai wait for her. Asuka took one more look out at the city skyline before glancing down at her phone.

"You really are always causing problems, Judai." She muttered.

Asuka turned around to toss her phone on the bed and picked up her clothes so she could start changing. She had to presentable for her reunion after all.


End file.
